JD(U) threatens panel boycott sans Congress leaders’ names
Mr Thankachan was reluctant to reveal their designation which came to the notice of the JD (U) leadership
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) was against the United Democratic Front (UDF) subcommittee headed by convener P. P. Thankachan holding Congress leaders alone responsible for Janata Dal (U) State president M. P. Veerendra Kumar’s defeat in Palakkad.
Mr Kumar had threatened to dissociate with the subcommittee if designation or names of Congress leaders were not mentioned in its report.
Mr Thankachan is unlikely to submit the report to the chief minister soon as two committee members, Joy Abraham and A A Azeez, are yet to be apprised of the findings.
On Tuesday, he had demanded that action be taken against Palakkad District Congress Committee (DCC) president C. V. Balachandran and two other DCC leaders P. Balagopal and C. Chandran for “approaching the elections very lightly”. Initially, Mr Thankachan was reluctant to reveal their designation which came to the notice of the JD (U) leadership. They decided not to approve of the sub-committee’s findings if Mr Thankachan was not going to reveal the names.
“Yes, there were reservations on the part of Thankachan. But when pressure came from different quarters to reveal the names, he was forced to admit much to the displeasure of the Congress leadership,” a top UDF leader said.
Apart from Mr Thankachan, the other sub-committee leaders include Kerala Congress (J) chairman Johnny Nelloor, RSP State president A. A. Azeez and Kerala Congress (M) parliamentary party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Joy Abraham.
Mr Azeez and Mr Abraham had not attended the sub-committee sitting on Tuesday. Sources close to Mr Thankachan told DC that only after these two leaders are taken into confidence, the final report of the sub-committee would be submitted to chief minister Oommen Chandy.
Meanwhile, a JD (U) leader told DC that it was for the first time that a KPCC sub-committee report was seeing the light of the day after the Palakkad debacle.
KPCC sub-committees as well as Youth Congress sub-committee headed by former KPCC president Thennala Balakrishna Pillai and KPCC general secretary P. M. Suresh Babu and YC general secretaries Jeby Methar and R. G. Sunil are yet to submit their reports on defeats in Thrissur and Idukki.
“Now the ball is in the court of KPCC leadership to take action against the erring Congress leaders in Palakkad. We are hoping that they will take action as KPCC chief V. M. Sudheeran had already promised stern action against erring leaders”, said a JD (U) leader.