Senior Congress leader V.M. Sudheeran resigned from Kerala PCC’s executive committee today, protesting the failure of the state Congress unit to get Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty, who is involved in a sex scandal, dropped from the Cabinet.KPCC chief Thennala Balakrishnan, however, informed that the resignation has not been accepted and that Sudheeran was being persuaded to withdraw it. Sudheeran, however, told The Indian Express that there was no question of his backtracking. ‘‘I will wait and watch for the KPCC to take its next step in the Kunhalikutty issue, before deciding what to do next,’’ he said.Sudheeran’s move is being seen as the first concrete act of dissent against the Congress leadership’s failure to take a stand on the issue. Sudheeran had indicated his intention to quit at the KPCC executive meet yesterday, which saw a clean divide in the party on the issue. While Chief Minister Oommen Chandy stuck to his stand, saying the law should be allowed to take its own course, senior party leader Vayalar Ravi cautioned that asking the IUML leader to resign might bring the government down.Eventually, it was decided to leave the final decision to the Chief Minister and the KPCC president. However, Sudheeran has said that this was not in conformity with the wishes of the people of the state.
