Party organ gives headache to Congress

Articles in ‘Veekshanam’ on coalition bonds a thorn in its side

: The Congress leadership is finding itself on the back foot as a result of its organ, Veekshanam , which has been coming out with articles and editorials, adding to the existing irritants with its coalition partners.

Senior leaders had to disown a recent article in the newspaper hitting out at Kerala Congress (M) leader K.M. Mani and casting aspersions on his alleged political plans. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said in Kottayam that the newspaper should not have published such an article against one of the senior-most leaders of the United Democratic Front (UDF).

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president V.M. Sudheeran said the article was published without the knowledge of the party. He cautioned the newspaper to observe restraint.

KC(M) retort

The KC(M) gave its retort through its paper Prathichaya, but the strain in the relations between the two could not be concealed.

Interestingly, the UDF partners have been venting their frustrations through their respective mouthpieces. There are two views about the trend. Senior UDF leaders feel that some of the articles are published with the knowledge of senior leaders. “This is done with a view to expressing their disenchantment with their coalition partners. It is easy to disown it after the point has been made,” said a leader said.

The other view is that lead writers and other contributors could be ignorant about the ebb and flow and the undercurrents of the UDF politics.

Even since the honeymoon period of returning to power ended, Mr. Chandy’s government has been haunted by problems of its own making. The two parties have been forced to stay put in the coalition owing to several compulsions, including the pressure of the Catholic Church.

Persistent media speculations that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the KC(M) are inching closer have further complicated matters. It is under such circumstances that the Veekshanam article has been published, adding to suspicion that the views expressed were the official stand of the Congress.

According to UDF sources, it will be a long haul for the Congress and the KC(M) leaders to keep their decade-old relations on even keel at least for the sake of sharing power.