The veteran Congress leader K. Karunakaran on Tuesday batted for his son K. Muraleedharan from his hospital bed by asking the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala in writing to re-examine the issue of his son’s re-admittance to the Congress.
With very few Congress leaders willing to campaign for Mr. Muraleedharan’s case for re-admittance, Mr. Karunakaran himself took up the responsibility of getting his son in. According to KPCC sources, the letter was delivered by his trusted lieutenant, N. Peethamabara Kurup, shortly before the KPCC executive began its session on Tuesday at the party headquarters in Indira Bhavan.
In his letter, Mr. Karunakaran expressed his inability to attend the executive meeting, but wanted the committee to re-examine its earlier decision against Mr. Muraleedharan’s entry. Mr. Chennithala made a reference to the letter in his presidential speech at the executive meeting and stated that the matter could be discussed at the next executive meeting in Mr. Karunakarans presence.
Mr. Chennithalas statement on these lines was actually far from being positive as he went on to criticise party leaders who had of late been campaigning publicly for Mr. Muraleedharan. The Union Minister of State for Home Mullapally Ramachandran had openly expressed his opinion that Mr. Muraleedharan was not a political untouchable and there was no reason why he should not be admitted.
Without referring to Mr. Ramachandran by name, Mr. Chennithala said some people have made it a habit of expressing their opinions through the press despite the KPCC executive taking a unanimous decision on the issue. He criticised such leaders for openly opposing the KPCC’s unanimous decision on the issue. This was a serious matter and amounted to indiscipline. If any one wanted to pursue the matter further, they were free to approach the AICC, he said.
