Weakening further Kerala’s poll-devastated Congress-led UDF, the Kerala Congress (M), a major constituent of the front for the past three decades, on Sunday announced its decision to quit the coalition in protest against the allegedly deliberate and consistent bid by a section in the Congress party to destroy it and defame its leader.
“In order to secure the pride of the party and to safeguard the interests of the working class, the party has decided to remain in the State Assembly as a separate bloc dissociated totally from the UDF with the aim of functioning as a responsible Opposition party with independent standpoint,” KC(M) chairman KM Mani told media persons, after a steering committee meeting of the party at the end of its two-day leadership camp at Charalkunnu in Pathanamthitta district.
The KC(M)’s divorce from the Congress and the UDF came almost nine months after Mani, an octogenarian politician with a 51-year legislative career, was forced to resign as Finance and law Minister in the former UDF Government over the charge that he had taken `1 crore as bribe from bar owners. The KC(M) had “found out” that the charge and the subsequent case against him were the result of a conspiracy by a section in the Congress.
Asked whether the alleged conspiracy by certain Congress leaders over the bar bribery charge against him was the reason behind the decision to leave the UDF, Mani said, “It is just one of the reasons. Aren’t there several reasonsIJ How can the relations be all right if there is no mutual love or trust in the frontIJ We were being viewed as enemies (within the UDF).
“We are viewing with extreme seriousness the deliberate attempts by ‘certain Congress centres’ to attack and insult the Kerala Congress (M), especially its leader (Mani
himself), despite the fact that we are a long-standing constituent of the UDF,” the former Minister, who had on Saturday itself given clear indications of the path the party was planning to take, said.
Though the party had decided to leave the UDF, Mani said it would continue to provide issue-based support to the UPA. The KC(M) has one member each in the lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. “Also, the party does not want to severe relations with the UDF in the local bodies and cooperative institutions,” he said.
The most interesting aspect of the decisions taken by the leadership meeting of the KC(M) was perhaps that it would not join the CPI(M)-led lDF or BJP-headed NDA contrary to the speculations. “We are not going to the lDF. We are not going to the NDA. We are not going to the BJP. We will stand on our own, totally independently,” Mani said.
With the departure of the KC(M), the strength in the Assembly of the UDF, which had faced a terrible defeat in the May 16 election, would come down to 41 from the earlier 47 in the 140-member House in which front leader Congress has only 22 seats. The ruling lDF has 91 members and the BJP has one.
Interestingly, the Congress which had been saying that the KC(M) was an indivisible part of the UDF blasted Mani on Sunday with Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala alleging that the former minister would stay only with camps that had power. “Its position is ridiculous. It is totally improper to leave the UDF after fighting an election as its partner just three months back,” he said.
Former CM Oommen Chandy said the KC(M) decision pained him while State Congress president VM Sudheeran alleged that Mani had taken the decision to leave the UDF much earlier and he was only waiting to find a reason for that. “It is highly improper for political parties in an alliance to run away from it when there is a poll defeat,” he said.
“The KC(M) decision proves that the Congress-led UDF has crumbled politically,” said State CPI(M) secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, adding that the best thing to be done now was to dissolve that front. He said that no discussions had come up within the CPI(M) or the lDF about inducting Mani’s party into the ruling front.