Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran, MP, retreated from his Saturday’s statement that he contemplated giving up his organisational responsibilities in the wake of the Crime Branch’s probe against him in connection with suspected fake antiquities dealer Monson Mavunkal’s alleged financial malfeasance.
Mr. Sudhakaran said the All India Congress Committee (AICC) had asked him to continue officiating as the PCC president. He had offered to step down to avoid becoming a political liability to Congress in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Defamation case
The Congress leader further said in Kannur that he would file defamation case against Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State secretary M.V. Govindan and the party newspaper Deshabhimani. Mr. Govindan had alleged that according to the victim of a POCSO case involving Monson, Mr. Sudhakaran was present at Monson’s property when the victim was being sexually abused. The allegation was based on a report that appeared in Deshabhimani.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan and Mr. Sudhakaran will likely fly to New Delhi on Monday to apprise the high command of the political situation in Kerala. They were likely to flag police cases against top Opposition leaders and discuss party reorganisation travails, including the leadership issues in the Youth Congress.
CPI(M) denial
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] denied the Congress accusation that Mr. Sudhakaran and Mr. Satheesan were victims of a political witch-hunt launched by the party in conjunction with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. CPI(M) Central secretariat member A.K. Balan said the case against Mr. Sudhakaran was an insider job. The petitioners were Congress workers. No Left Democratic Front (LDF) worker had moved a petition against Mr. Sudhakaran. A Youth Congress district secretary had sought a Vigilance inquiry against Mr. Satheesan.
Mr. Balan said party reorganisation had left the Congress in a mess. An emergent new group now battled old factions. “The party is on the verge of factionalism-fuelled implosion. At least five group leaders are vying to be the next Congress Chief Minister,” he said.
Mr. Balan again compared Mr. Sudhakaran’s KPCC presidentship to a motorcycle stuntman riding on a rickety platform. “He will meet the fate of his predecessors,” Mr. Balan said.
Mr. Balan said successive court orders, including on the appointment of Priya Varghese as Associate Professor in Kannur University, vindicated the government’s stance. The High Court order was a slap on the face of the right-wing media that amplified the Opposition’s recriminatory campaign against the LDF government. He blamed Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan for attempting to endorse the Opposition’s bid to defame the State’s higher education sector.
BJP reaction
BJP State president K. Surendran cast the latest government’s tangle with the opposition as another bout of shadowboxing with no actual injury to either party. The cases against Mr. Sudhakaran and Mr. Satheesan were mere posturing. “It would come to nothing. Both fronts are in cahoots with each other, bonded by mutual corruption,” he added.
