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Karunakaran stands by his demand

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM July 24. The veteran Congress leader, K. Karunakaran, has said that he stands by his demand for a leadership change in the State and that an AICC team will be arriving here on Sunday to sort out the issues in the party's State unit.

Speaking to mediapersons on his arrival here from New Delhi today, Mr. Karunakaran said the high command delegation would also hold discussions with the UDF partners as part of its attempt to solve the issues. To a question on whether he had given up the demand for a leadership change in the light of his talks with Congress leaders, including the AICC president, Sonia Gandhi, Mr. Karunakaran said: ``I have not wavered from my positions.''

Later, the KPCC president, K. Muraleedharan, told mediapersons that the decision of the party high command to send a delegation to the State clearly proved that it was convinced about the seriousness of the situation. He said he was confident that the high command would take the appropriate decision on the current issues in the party. To a question, Mr. Muraleedharan said the discussions would continue here and in Delhi, if necessary.

He said he had not met Ms. Gandhi to demand a leadership change. ``That is not my agenda. I met the AICC leaders only to discuss the impact and implications of the Chief Minister's statement,'' he said. Mr. Muraleedhararn said the problems the Chief Minister's statement had created were not of the KPCC's making. Those responsible for creating such a situation should sort it out, he added.

Mr. Muraleedharan said that he continued to stand by his demand that the Chief Minister, A.K. Antony, should withdraw his remarks about the minority communities. He denied that he had been driven by factional consideration to take such a position.

``I have nothing to say about those leaders who had lauded me for my impartial positions but are now lashing out at me for taking an unambiguous stand. It is not possible to accept the accusations of certain leaders that I'm functioning as a factional leader just because I did some plain-speaking,'' he said.

Mr. Muraleedharan said his views on the minority community were in accordance with the declared policy of the AICC. He said the AICC general secretary, Ahmed Patel, had himself pointed to this and had termed Mr. Antony's controversial observations as his personal opinion.

According to KPCC sources, Mr. Patel will arrive here on Sunday as the head of a delegation. The KPCC general secretary, Rajmohan Unnithan, a staunch Karunakaran loyalists said the district and block level conventions planned by the Karunakaran faction spread over the next two days had been postponed by a week in view of the AICC general secretary's arrival.

The faction had convened district-level and block-level conventions on Sunday last when the row in the party appeared to be taking a turn for the worse.

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