Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala has donned the mediator’s role in an attempt to get the Congress party act together ahead of next week’s United Democratic Front (UDF) meeting here.
He called on former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who is reportedly sulking over the raw deal he and his men got in the District Congress Committee nominations, hoping to work out a formula that would ensure that Mr. Chandy would agree to a date for convening the political affairs committee meeting to enable the Congress party formulate its perspectives and present it unitedly in the UDF meeting.
According to sources, the Opposition Leader’s attempt was only partially successful, since Mr. Chandy agreed to attend the UDF meeting, but did not positively respond to the idea of convening the political affairs committee. The crisis the UDF is facing is the inability of the Congress party to get its act together.
As the major constituent in the Opposition coalition, the responsibility of keeping the UDF united and fighting fit is on the Congress. Till the advent of the PAC, senior Congress leaders used to put their heads together and formulate the party’s stand to be adopted at UDF meetings.
As per the high command diktat, it is the responsibility of the PAC to formulate the party’s stand on crucial issues. But in view of Mr. Chandy’s diffidence, the party has not been able to discuss several major issues in a free wheeling manner and take a stand on several matters that would come up at the UDF meeting.
The January 3 meeting is considered to be crucial since it has been convened to discuss and blue print an agitation plan against the failure of the Centre and State governments. This includes the adverse impact of Narendra Modi government’s demonetisation and its fall out on the cooperative sector and the Pinarayi Vijayan government’s failure to tackle ration supply disruption and a horde of other issues. The lapses of the Centre and State government have left any one untouched in one manner or other, presenting the Opposition to launch agitations with twin objectives of taking on the BJP and the CPI(M) that are heading the NDA and LDF respectively.
Mr. Chennithala’s attempt at mediation should be viewed in this context since as Opposition Leader and UDF chairman, it is his responsibility to ensure that the UDF is fine fettle. For this, it is imperative for the Congress to take a united stand at the meeting at which the Indian Union Muslim League leaders are sure to make noises about the problems in the Congress.
The Rajmohan Unnithan episode has also added to the complication since Mr. Chandy’s supporter’s feel that some vested interests were behind the rather harsh remarks made by the former KPCC spokesman, who allegedly went on to drag Mr. Chandy and family into a controversy.
They are not exactly happy at the response of the KPCC towards Mr. Unnithan’s wayward remarks. For Mr. Chandy, his meeting with Mr. Chennithala has enabled to clearly display his dissatisfaction at the manner in which the high command had taken the decision on DCC presidents’ nomination, his opposition to Mr. Sudheeran and his positive approach to the UDF.
