Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Mullappally Ramachandran on Monday made it clear that he preferred a qualitative committee to assist him in running party affairs in the State and that he was opposed to installing members of Parliament and the Assembly as office-bearers.
Replying to a series of questions at a press conference here, Mr. Ramachandran was quite candid in his observations, but preferred to leave it to the party high command to take a final call on the reconstitution of the party apparatus.
“We do not need a crowd to lead the party. We need a qualitative committee that can provide a strong leadership. Any delay could prove to be costly,” he said.
Regarding jumbo committees, he said the peculiar factional configuration in the party made balancing a lot more difficult. He had put down his opinions on each person whose name had been included on the list.
“I have no doubts about the capabilities and efficiency of each and every Parliament or legislature member. But the job of a Parliament or Assembly member is a full-time job. I am not sure these elected representatives will find time to carry out the responsibilities I bestow on them [as party office-bearers]. It is doubtful whether such office-bearers would be able to meaningfully contribute to party work,” he said.
Agitations
The KPCC decided to take up the ongoing agitations of the Youth Congress and Kerala Students Union against the scams linked to Public Service Commission recruitment, university mark donation and the failure of the State government to properly investigate Wayanad murder cases.
The Congress will organise a massive demonstration and rally in front of the Secretariat and the collectorates of 13 districts on December 20.
A meeting of the presidents of District Congress Committees decided to ensure that ward committees in local bodies are reconstituted by December 31. A door-to-door campaign will be conducted between December 15 and January 15. The DCC presidents will stage a month-long padayatra in their respective districts from February 1 to 28. Apart from focussing on the misdeeds of the LDF government, the padayatra would also mobilise funds.
