Faction fight spills out in KC(M)

Thiruvananthapuram: The faction fight in the Kerala Congress (Mani) has intensified with acting chairman P. J. Joseph telling Jose K. Mani that he (Joseph) being the the seniormost in the party should be the parliamentary party leader following the death of chairman K.M. Mani. Howe-ver, Roshy Augustine MLA and party whip gave a letter to Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan on Sunday seeking more time to elect a new parliamentary party leader. But the speaker has asked the party to choose the leader before June 9.

The speaker’s office said the seat of parliamentary party leader cannot be left vacant and that it will be given to Joseph who is the deputy leader. The party leaders can be decided by the respective parties, it said.

Earlier, Mons Joseph MLA and parliamentary party secretary had han-ded over a letter to the speaker seeking the app-ointment of Joseph as the parliamentary party leader.

“Mons’ move has boom-eranged and we do not know what will happen. We hope that the issues within the party would be resolved soon,” said a KC (M) general secretary.

Roshy’s letter said that as per the party’s rule, the deputy leader cannot become the party chairman. However, Mons said the opposite in his letter.

The KC (M) leadership is yet to decide when to hold the parliamentary party meeting. But the election of the chairman cannot wait for long. The party meeting should be called only after a conse-nsus is reached, according to party sources.

Rich tribute to Mani, longest serving member in Assembly

The Assembly on Monday paid rich tributes to Kerala Congress leader and former minister K.M. Mani who died on April 9, before adjourning for the day.

Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan said Mani, the longest serving member of the Assembly, was elected for 13 consecutive terms from Pala constituency. He was the member of legislative assembly for a period of over five decades.

Chief Minister Pinarai Vijayan hailed Mani as a disciplined law maker who was always punctual in attending the sessions. The young legislators have a lot to learn from the Kerala Congress leader who believed in taking active part in the House proceedings. His death has created a huge vacuum.

The seat of Mani who was the legislature party leader of KC(M), was occupied by party's working chairman P.J. Joseph.

All nine legislators barring P.V. Anwar of Nilambur who contested Lok Sabha polls, were present  on the first day of the 15th session of 14th Assembly.

Adoor Prakash, K Muraleedharan, Hibi Eden who represent Konni, Vattiyoorkavu  and Ernakulam constituencies respectively in the Assembly, were congratulated by their colleagues.  From the ruling front Veena George, Chittayam Gopakumar and C Divakaran who contested the Lok Sabha elections unsuccessfully, were applauded by the colleges for their fight. The lone LDF winner A M Ariff was congratulated by members of the treasury and opposition benches.,\

The MLAs who won Lok Sabha polls have two weeks time to put in their papers. Since the first session of the new Lok Sabha is likely to be held from June 6, MLA turned MPs have to quit their legislature membership to take up new responsibilities in Delhi.