Congress trains guns on its own veteran

It was an outburst on one of Congress’ own that surprised party members on Friday.

As he took on the AIADMK government in his usual aggressive tone, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president E.V.K.S. Elangovan also trained his guns on an unexpected target.

Irked by the lack of visible action on a petition he submitted to Governor K. Rosaiah last month in which he had listed several allegations of corruption against the AIADMK regime, Mr. Elangovan openly accused Mr. Rosaiah of siding with the State and the Centre in his bid for survival. In the process, he raised a question that many had been wondering about for some time.

Mr. Rosaiah, a veteran Congressman, was appointed as Governor of Tamil Nadu in August 2011 by the UPA regime.

While a number of UPA-appointed Governors were shown the door after the BJP-led government returned to power at the Centre, Mr. Rosaiah has held his position without much controversy.

This, Mr. Elangivan said, was a testament to the cordial relationship that he had maintained with the State government, with the ruling party having no compulsions to seek his removal.

Disappointment

However, there is a sense of disappointment in the Congress, which had hoped Mr. Rosaiah would give it some mileage by acting on its petition against instances of corruption in the State.

“We were a little taken aback when the guards at Raj Bhavan asked us to remove Congress flags from our vehicles when we went to meet Mr. Rosiah ,” said a senior leader who accompanied Mr. Elangovan.

Slamming the Congress for attaching motives to Mr. Rosaiah’s continuance as Governor, senior BJP leader L. Ganesan said it was the same Congress that criticised the Centre of interference when few other Governors appointed by the UPA resigned.

Rosaiah worried more about survival: Elangovan