: A meeting of Congress legislators on Monday at Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s official residence turned out to be a show of strength, with 31 of the 39 elected members — except Speaker G. Karthikeyan — expressing their solidarity with the government decision to make practicable amendments to the liquor policy.
The three-hour-long meeting witnessed a heavy dose of criticism against Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president V.M. Sudheeran, with legislators cutting across factional loyalties accusing him of violating organisational decorum by making public statements. There was a general consensus that the government and the party should work in tandem, but there was no supporters for Mr. Sudheeran’s stand on the liquor policy.
Later, briefing media persons about the outcome of the meeting, Congress Legislature Party secretary Benny Behannan said the meeting had ratified all the practical decisions the government had taken in connection with the liquor policy. He said the meeting had urged the Chief Minister and other leaders to create a situation for the government and the party to work in a united manner.
He said the Chief Minister and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala were authorised to take appropriate steps to restore a peaceful atmosphere in the party through discussions at various levels on the basis of the issues handled at Monday’s meeting. Those who were absent included Cooperation Minister C.N. Balakrishnan, Sunny Joseph, T.N. Pratapan, K. Achuthan, Therambil Ramakrishnan, M.P. Vincent, A.P. Abdullakutty, and I.C. Balakrishnan. Some of these legislators do not have any factional links. The most significant aspect of the meeting was the rare coming together of legislators belonging to the two major factions against Mr. Sudheeran, who had been nominated by the party high command disregarding their preferences.
