Enraged by the scathing attack unleashed against it by the Kerala Congress president Ramesh Chennithala, the Muslim league, second biggest constituent of Kerala’s Congress-led ruling UDF, threatened to consider ending the alliance, pushing decades-old coalition into a deep crisis.
An emergency leadership meeting of the Muslim league on Sunday decided to hold a meeting of the party secretariat on Thursday to analyse Chennithala’s attack against it in detail and to decide whether it should continue in the ruling coalition. “Keeping UDF intact is not the responsibility of the Muslim league alone,” said the league leadership.
After the emergency meeting, Muslim league general secretary ET Muhammad Basheer said that the Congress and his organisation, lead parties in the UDF that had existed for several decades, had the right and freedom to decide whether the front should continue to exist. Every constituent in the UDF had the responsibility to keep the UDF intact, he said.
Shaken by the tough position taken by the Muslim league, the Congress high command intervened in the issue. Ahmed Patel, political affairs secretary to Sonia Gandhi, called up State Muslim league president Panakkad Hyderali Shihab Thangal to request not to take extreme decisions in haste.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, best friend of Muslim league in Congress and for whom its support is of vital significance for survival in power, was quick to come out with a statement that league was an indivisible part of the UDF and that Chennithala had not attacked that party, but confusion was created because the media had distorted what he said.
Under the garb of quoting former KPCC chief CK Govindan Nair (CKG), Chennithala said on Saturday that succumbing to pressures of communal and community organisations — like the Muslim league — would become a liability for the Congress. He also referred to the CKG theory that the league would play pressure tactics to get more benefits from Congress.
“What CKG had said long ago has now become a lesson for the Congress party,” said Chennithala referring to the controversy over the league demand for a fifth Cabinet berth, which was granted eventually, and its plan for demanding the Wayanad lok Sabha seat which the Congress was holding presently.
Chennithala, leader of the ‘I’ group in the State Congress, is convinced that it was the Muslim league which had blocked his induction into the Chandy Cabinet as Deputy Chief Minister a month back. His attack came just when the league was facing serious Opposition allegations regarding the passport and human trafficking scandals that could affect its credibility.
Chennithala offered a denial after the Muslim league registered its protest, but it was not sufficient to convince anybody. The 20 Assembly seats of the Muslim league are vital for Chandy’s Government which is surviving with a thin majority in the 140-member Assembly. The UDF has 73 seats in the Assembly while the CPI(M)-led Opposition lDF has 67 MlAs.
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Though low voter turnout in Mandi had made Virbhadra Singh little bit disappointed but he was sure of party’s win. After polling, he had said, “What can we do, people got busy with ploughing as it rained heavily the previous night of polling but still margin will be enough to ensure our win.”