It took the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) just a day to suspend N. Aboobakker, a member of the Kunnamangalam block panchayat and former president of Peruvayal Congress Committee, after he attended the State government’s Navakerala Sadas on Sunday. When asked about the quick decision, District Congress Committee (DCC) president K. Praveen Kumar said, “The Congress has changed.”
“The Congress does not need members who defy a direct order from the KPCC president. The party has suspended him as part of disciplinary action,” he told reporters in Kozhikode on Monday. He said the suspended members were no longer welcome back. “Let the CPI(M) take them in if it wants. We will initiate steps to disqualify him as block panchayat member in that case,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Congress is planning massive protests across the State against the alleged attack on its workers and student union members during the Navakerala Sadas. The DCC president came down on the police for joining forces with the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) to torture Congress workers. “A few of our members were chased on bikes, and one had his brand new car burnt down. Some are even threatened on phone, just for waving black flags at the Chief Minister, and the police have not taken anyone into custody yet,” he said.
