The crushing defeat of the Congress in the recent Assembly elections in five States has found its resonance in Kerala, with the simmering unrest in the party unit manifesting itself in the form of resentment against the central leadership. All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal, in particular, has come under strong criticism from a section of Congress workers in the State.
While Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran issued a statement warning party workers after posters demanding the ouster of Mr. Venugopal from the key party post appeared at several places in north Kerala on Saturday, senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy who was in New Delhi to attend the Congress Working Committee meeting on Sunday slammed attempts to single out Mr. Venugopal for the party’s dismal performance at the hustings. He said personal attacks against leaders went against the party’s ethos.
Several of the posters that appeared on Saturday morning ridiculed Mr. Venugopal, a close aide of Rahul Gandhi, and called for removing him from the party post. "Oust Venugopal, Save Congress" read the posters.
