The rift in the district Congress leadership over the disbanding of the director board of the UDF-ruled Pallikkunnu Cooperative Bank is threatening to overshadow the scheduled District Congress Committee (DCC) programme to allow Congress booth committee presidents to interact with All India Congress Committee (AICC) representatives on January 20. The division in the district leadership surfaced when a section of the party leaders, opposed to leader K. Sudhakaran, alleged that the bank’s director board was disbanded in retaliation to the party local leader and former Pallikkunnu panchayat president P.K. Ragesh shifting his loyalties from the Sudhakaran camp to the traditional ‘A’ group.
Injured
Mr. Ragesh was among those injured when he and his supporters were allegedly manhandled by party workers loyal to the Sudhakaran camp.
The scheduled interaction programme assumed importance in the backdrop of the fresh bitterness between the two camps.
Boycotts meeting
The ‘A’ faction of the party had boycotted the meeting of the DCC and the KPCC leaders here recently, to oppose the action against the bank director board and the attacks on protesting local leaders of the party.
DCC president K. Surendran, a Sudhakaran-loyalist, said on Tuesday that a meeting of the DCC leadership would be held on January 15 afternoon to discuss the arrangements being made for the interaction programme.
He called upon the KPCC office-bearers and former Ministers hailing from the district, party MLAs, DCC members, party block presidents, and leaders of feeder organisations to attend the January 15 meeting.
Rift to be discussed
The rift in the party is expected to be on the agenda of informal discussions on January 15 when Chief Minister Ooommen Chandy and other senior party leaders will be in town.
Mr. Chandy is visiting the place on January 15 to inaugurate the indoor stadium at Mundayad here.
The DCC president said in a press release that the interaction programme would be held from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Chamber Hall here on January 20.
AICC general secretaries Mukul Wasnik and Deepak Babaria, KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran would be attending the face-to-face programme.
UDF-ruled coop. bank director board disbanded
Local leader’s switch of camps spurred the move
