A split looms in Cong Kerala unit

Hinting at an impending split in the state Congress, senior leader K. Karunakaran today said he will be forced to take ‘‘some pain...

Hinting at an impending split in the state Congress, senior leader K. Karunakaran today said he will be forced to take ‘‘some painful decisions within a week’’ if the high command continues to ignore voices of protest from Kerala.

Maintaining that the AICC and its president Sonia Gandhi have altered course since Rajiv Gandhi’s death, Karunakaran said he won’t rule out the emergence of a new Congress, embracing Indira Gandhi’s programmes and policies. ‘‘It is a possibility. A new Congress with a new policy and programme may emerge in India after tomorrow’s Indira Jayanti rally. It (the possible split) is painful and unfortunate,’’ Karunakaran said.

	Karunakaran loyalist to skip rally

	THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Karunakaran loyalist MLA Varkala Kahar said on Tuesday that he will not attend the group’s rally in Kochi. In a statement, Kahar said he will not take part as he viewed any alliance by the ‘I’ group with CPI(M) as suicidal. The statement added: ‘‘People gave a mandate to UDF by electing 100 MLAs to put an end to Marxist misrule. All Congressmen are bound to stand by this mandate.’’ Interestingly, Kahar was one of the 21 MLAs in ‘I’ group who had signed in a campaign for the removal of Speaker Vakkom Purushothaman recently. (ENS)

‘‘I have been loyal to the Nehru family. But the situation is not the same today. Any decision to part ways would be painful,’’ Karunakaran said.

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‘‘We will proceed in the path shown by Nehruji and Indiraji. The party has moved away from workers after Rajiv’s death. The leadership’s contribution in guiding the party has diminished,’’ he added. Karunakaran said there is no democracy in the party. ‘‘Many members from other states share this view,’’ he claimed.

‘‘She (Sonia) had time to solve problems in Tamil Nadu. But Kerala also deserves attention. The crisis won’t be solved even after December 1 as the AICC will be busy managing post-poll issues. This is hurting our members as AICC has time only for A.K. Antony,’’ Karunakaran said, adding that the Muslim League has taken a strong stand this time, ‘‘though I’m not sure how E. Ahmed presented the report on the Kerala situation’’.

‘‘Sonia is being misled. She is only listening to Antony,’’ repeated Karunakaran, adding that tomorrow’s rally will spark off a national movement.

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