Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who has been sulking over the short shrift he and his men got in the nomination of District Congress Committee presidents, has kept everyone guessing on whether he would attend the Congress Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting on January 14.
Mr. Chandy did not state in as many words his plans when asked about his PAC attendance at a press conference here on Wednesday. “I don’t want to dilute the importance of my press conference focusing on the questionable decisions of the Narendra Modi government,” he said. It was left to All India Congress Committee observer K.V Thangkabalu to back Mr. Chandy by stating that he was a senior leader whose presence in State politics cannot be ignored.
All decisions are being taken after discussions between Mr. Chandy, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president V. M. Sudheeran and Congress Legislature Party leader Ramesh Chennithala, he said.
Mr. Chandy was repeatedly asked at the press conference why he did not approach the party high command with his expose on the links of a blacklisted U.K. company with the Union Commerce Ministry, why the party high command had not taken it up as part of its ongoing campaign against Mr. Modi’s demonetisation and how a regional leader like him can make an impact.
Mr. Thangkabalu. however. asserted that Mr. Chandy was one of the most prominent leader in the Congress. He cannot be considered a regional leader. He had every right to bring out any issue. The AICC will take it up soon, he added.
The AICC observer, who is here to coordinate the Kerala leg of the all-India anti-demonetisation campaign of the Congress, maintained that Mr. Chandy had raised the issue with the permission of the high command, which will co-opt his allegations at an appropriate time.
Mr. Chandy, however, preferred to leave it open about his plans when it came to the PAC attendance. Mr. Chennithala, who had taken the initiative to mollify Mr. Chandy and narrow down the dates for the PAC meeting, ardently hoped that Mr. Chandy would attend the meeting.
On Tuesday, the leadership trioka held extensive discussions on the dates for convening the meeting. KPCC sources said the dates were announced only after the talks. Even at this stage, Mr. Chandy made it clear that he was reluctant to attend the meeting, which in any case would have several of his supporters present.
In any case, he would not be able to attend the meeting of DCC presidents slated for January 10 because of the case in a Bengaluru court.
The best that Mr. Chandy can hope for under the circumstances is to keep the KPCC leadership on tenterhooks till January 14. He hardly has the option to opt out of the meeting which would consider among other issues, the AICC-sponsored agitation programmes.
With Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala goading the UDF into an agitation mode without waiting for the KPCC to get its act together, Mr. Chandy can ignore the PAC only at the cost of being sidelined further, sources said.
