The group war in Kerala’s Congress spilled on to the streets on Wednesday with senior leader Rajmohan Unnithan, who had the other day resigned as party spokesman following a bitter statement war with former PCC president K Muraleedharan MlA, coming under an assault attempt allegedly by the latter’s supporters in front of the District Congress Committee (DCC) office in Kollam.
Sensing the gravity of the situation, the Congress high command intervened by banning public statements from party leaders. Mukul Wasnik, the AICC general secretary in charge of Kerala affairs, said in New Delhi that the unity and strength of the party would be affected if leaders kept issuing statements publicly without trying to solve problems through party forums.
That the rival groups are indulging in street fights at a time when the Central leadership is depending heavily on Kerala unit for a comeback in the national level has shocked top leaders. “Such problems should not recur. This is a time when we should be opposing the anti-people policies of the Central and State Governments,” PCC president VM Sudheeran said.
The incident at Kollam came as the sequel to the fierce war of words that had been taking place since Monday between Muraleedharan, who belongs to the party’s ‘I’ group led by Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, and Unnithan, a former ‘I’ group warrior and presently a supporter of Sudheeran, who is accused of nurturing a ‘group of the group-less’ in the Congress.
A group of Youth Congress workers, said to be supporters of Muraleedharan, first threw rotten eggs at Unnithan’s vehicle in front of the DCC office and then tried to manhandle him as he reached there to participate in a function associated with the Congress’s 132nd Foundation Day. Though Unnithan’s supporters tried to counter the attack, they did not succeed.
“It was indeed an attempt to murder me. The man behind it is Muraleedharan. Those who attacked me were paid hoodlums whom I know,” said Unnithan. This was not the first time he had come under attack from Muraleedharan’s men. Workers belonging to the ‘I’ group had assaulted Unnithan and partially disrobed him in Thiruvananthapuram 12 years back.
“Some string-pulling had taken place behind Unnithan’s statements against me. The high command will take appropriate decision to end the current problems and I will act according to that,” Muraleedharan, a former president of the State Congress and son of former Chief Minister K Karunakaran, the founder of the ‘I’ group, said.
The current round of war in Kerala’s Congress had started with Muraleedharan’s statement that the Congress-led UDF was not being able to function as effective Opposition. As the target of the statement allegedly was none other than Sudheeran, Unnithan hit back at Muraleedharan with some personal remarks, starting a two-day long fierce war of words between the two.
Muraleedharan’s statement was also allegedly directed against Opposition leader Chennithala and this triggered speculations that he was planning to migrate to the rival ‘A’ group led by former chief minister Oommen Chandy. This feeling gained strength with KC Joseph, a confidante of Chandy, writing a letter to Sudheeran to justify Muraleedharan’s remarks.
Shocked by the developments in the Kerala party, perhaps the most influential state Congress unit in the entire country, Congress Working Committee member AK Antony said in New Delhi that he was pained by the developments. “leaders should stop their war of words. Such incidents should not take place again,” he said.
“To us, the party and its unity are the most important things. All should take care to avoid controversies that can affect the party,” said Sudheeran while State Congress vice-president VD Satheesan said, “I appeal to these leaders that they should not indulge in mudslinging as it will affect the workers’ morale at a time when the party is facing a big crisis.”