The wheel seemed to have turned full circle for Cherian Philip. On Tuesday, he returned to the Congress after 20 years in the Communist Party of India (Marxist) tent.
A galaxy of top Congress leaders welcomed Mr. Philip at the KPCC headquarters here. KPCC president K. Sudhakaran enrolled him in the party’s rolls.
Mr. Philip said: “I had left the Congress weeping. Now, I am back laughing”.
He launched a broadside against the CPI(M), stating his former hosts would align with the devil for political dividends. There was nothing ideological about the CPI(M), and it cynically tempered dogma with the compulsions of realpolitik. The CPI(M) had sought to mentally shackle him with its cult-like discipline and penchant for secrecy.
Mr. Philip said the CPI(M) was a dying party gripped by “blood cancer”. It would soon collapse like a house of cards. The Congress, in contrast, suffered from a mild cold and would resurge.
Mr. Philip had parted ways with the Congress in 2001 after he felt sidelined. He aligned himself with the CPI(M), but stopped short of taking a party membership.
For 20 years, Mr. Philip interpreted the Congress and the United Democratic Front for left audiences. He had fallen out with the CPI(M) leadership for “denying” him a winnable Assembly seat.
Mr. Sudhakaran said Mr. Philip had seen the underbelly of the CPI(M) and realised Congress’s greatness. His return should serve as a lesson to those who seek to ditch the party during difficult times.
All India Congress Committee general secretaries Oommen Chandy and K.C. Venugopal, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, Ramesh Chennithala, UDF convener M.M. Hassan, gathered at Indira Bhavan to welcome him.
