The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) reportedly saw a larger CPI(M) plot to undermine its ambitious agenda to revitalise the organisation and staunch the stream of defections from the party.
It viewed the “repeated CPI(M) attacks” against KPCC president K. Sudhakaran as a concerted endeavour to thwart the enterprise to transform the Congress into an election-winning machine with a proactive presence in the State.
Recently, CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had alleged that Mr. Sudhakaran had drawn violent criminals into the Congress fold under the pretext of converting the party into a semi-cadre organisation.
‘Mafia style’
The SFI activist’s murder by “hoodlums” in Idukki was a direct fallout of Mr. Sudhakaran imposing his “mafia-style” politics on the Congress, he had claimed.
CPI(M) State committee member M.V. Jayarajan had accused Mr. Sudhakaran of publicly advocating violence and vandalism to derail the K-Rail project.
CPI(M) workers marched to Mr. Sudhakaran's house here on Tuesday and burnt an effigy of the KPCC president.
The CPI(M)'s perceived attempt to single out Mr. Sudhakaran for criticism has arguably bolstered the KPCC's president's position in the party.
Support
The ‘A’ and ‘I’ factions, which had accused Mr. Sudhakaran of arbitrariness in nominating KPCC office-bearers, appeared to have rallied behind him for now.
Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala slammed the CPI(M) attempt to pin down Mr. Sudhakaran.
KPCC working president Kodikunnil Suresh, MP, said the CPI(M) had launched a character assassination campaign against Mr. Sudhakaran the very day the latter assumed charge as KPCC president. “It seems the CPI(M) is fearful of Mr. Sudhakaran continuing at the helm of the KPCC,” he said.
Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan, reckoned to be part of the official KPCC group, denounced the CPI(M) attempt to blame Mr. Sudhakaran for the "one-off" tragedy in Idukki.
Meanwhile, the KPCC criticised the CPI(M) for targetting Congress workers, KSU activists and party offices across the State in the wake of the Idukki incident. It has decided to launch a major campaign to highlight the CPI(M)'s "cult of violence".
