Rajya Sabha seat: Sparks fly at Political Affairs Committee meet

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Rajya Sabha seat row dominated the political affairs committee meeting at Indira Bhavan, KPCC headquarters, with the aggrieved leaders lashing out at Mr Oommen  Chandy, AICC general secretary,  on Monday.   However, Mr Chandy was away in Andhra Pradesh looking for ‘fresh fields and pastures new.’

Senior leaders like P. J. Kurien, P. C. Chacko and V. M. Sudheeran expres-sed dismay over the role  played by Mr Chandy even as  Opposition Leader Ramesh Chenn-ithala admitted  that the leadership had failed to discuss the issue  in the party forum. The PAC meeting will resume on Tuesday. Mr Kurien alleged that Mr  Chandy had taken a  unilateral decision to give the seat to KC (M). He  and Mr Chacko opined that in all states  it is the PCC president and the Congress Legislative Party Leader who  hold talks  with the AICC leadership.

They demanded that in future, AICC general secretary K. C. Venugopal and former KPCC presidents K. Muraleedharan and V.M. Sudheeran should go to  New Delhi for talks apart from the KPCC president and CLP leader. "Kurien demanded to know what's so special about Chandy.  'A' group leaders P. C. Vishnunath and Benny Behanan resented  the personal attack against Chandy. Chenni-thala urged not to make  public statements against the party,"  said a PAC leader.

Mr Benny Behanan maintained that Mr Chandy is a  mass leader  who travels the length and breadth of the state.    Mr Chacko, 71,  four-time Lok Sabha MP, became  emotional  and  asked  KPCC president M.M. Hassan why he had joined  hands with the other two leaders in denying him the RS seat.  Mr Chennithala  intervened and said that in future the crucial decisions will be first discussed in PAC meeting.

Mr  Chacko claimed that Mr Chandy deliberately stayed away from the PAC session under the guise of a meeting in Andhra Pradesh. Mr K. V. Thomas MP said he  had requested  Mr Hassan  to postpone the session so that Mr Chandy could  also attend it.   “The top brass should realise that being in closed rooms will not enable them to know the  'virtual attack' being unleashed by the party workers on the social media,” he said.

Mr  Sudheeran reiterated  that the three leaders had failed miserably in the Rajya Sabha seat issue. Later,  Mr Chacko told reporters that the RS seat  was decided by the three leaders. “The RS seat should have been contested by the Congress. There should have been wider consultation, ” said Mr Chacko. After the PAC meeting on Tuesday, the KPCC executive meeting will also be held.