Karunakaran, Murali stick to their guns

By Our Staff Reporter

KOZHIKODE, SEPT. 4. The P. C. Chacko factor continues to be an irritant in the `I' group of the Congress party in the State.

The crisis following the differences between the KPCC president, Mr. K. Muraleedharan, and his father and senior Congress leader, Mr. K. Karunakaran, over the choice of Mr. Chacko as KPCC(I) vice-president still persists. Both have stuck to their guns. Mr. Muraleedharan arguing for the inclusion of Mr. Chacko, and his father pressing for his removal from the list submitted by the `I' group to the High Command.

At the height of the feud in the `I' group, Mr. Muraleedharan left for New Delhi via Mumbai from Kozhikode today. On reaching New Delhi, he held discussions with the AICC general secretary, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad, over phone. Both of them will have further discussions late in the evening. The Kozhikode MP is also likely to meet the Congress president, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, and apprise her of the problem arising out of the stubborn attitude of his father.

However, the list of office-bearers of the party will be announced only after Mr. Muraleedharan and Mr. Karunakaran arrive at a consensus whether to include Mr. Chacko or the former Speaker, Mr. P. P. Thankachan, in the list. The High Command is unlikely to go ahead with Mr. Muraleedharan's proposal by antagonising a senior leader like Mr. Karunakaran. For, it will be left with no option but to choose a dark horse, Mr. M.I. Shanavas, nominated by the `A' group for the vice-president's post.

Meanwhile, Mr. Chacko told `The Hindu' that Mr. Karunakaran had been unnecessarily making a hue and cry over his inclusion in the list. ``Every name was consulted with the leader before the list was submitted to the High Command,'' he said.

Mr. Chacko claimed that Mr. Muraleedharan would not ask Ms. Sonia Gandhi to remove his name from the list submitted to her. ``In fact, the factional feud has given a new dimension to the on- going groupism in the Congress party in the State. Mr. Muraleedharan is having a tough time as KPCC president with a series of hurdles from his father himself,'' he added.

Antony hopeful

Our Special Correspondent adds from Thiruvananthapuram: The Chief Minister, Mr. A.K. Antony, said on Tuesday the issues that had cropped up in connection with the reorganisation of the KPCC would be settled amicably. The All India Congress Committee would take a decision acceptable to all, the Chief Minister told presspersons here.

Asked whether he was instrumental to the fight between Mr. Karunakaran and Mr. Muraleedharan, Mr. Antony said there was no such fight between the two. There had always been differences and problems in the Congress. The party could survive such problems. That was why the Congress was in existence for more than a century.

He said the problems of the tribals could not be solved by free ration alone. Several problems needed to be addressed and this would require time. The move of the tribal organisations to block the Onam pageant in Thiruvananthapuram was not being seen as a political agitation. The Government looked at it as a humanitarian problem, he added.

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