TRIVANDRUM, 28 September — With the Congress high command permitting state unit president K. Muraleedharan to crack the whip on his sister Padmaja Venugopal and former minister T.H. Musthafa, the bitter factional feud in the party has intensified.
Senior Congress leader K. Karunakaran is to tell reporters today how furious he is. He had protested party moves to take punitive action against his loyalists who criticized Chief Minister A.K Antony, Karunakaran’s arch enemy within the party.
Padmaja was being punished for violating her brother’s directive against heading a parallel trade union in the Kerala State Electricity Board against the official union, while Musthafa faced the ax for openly criticizing Karunakaran. Interestingly, Karunakaran had addressed the first public meeting of the union recently together with Electricity Minister Kadavoor Sivadasan and Transport Minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar.
The latest developments have completed the political polarization in Karunakaran’s family. After his son Muraleedharan made it clear that he had no group within the Congress, Padmaja emerged as the unquestionable leader of Karunakaran’s so-called I group within the state unit of the party, which heads the ruling coalition.
Padmaja, who believes the action was sexist and aimed at preventing her from being active in politics, said she would take up the issue with party president Sonia Gandhi. “The party has not told me what anti-party activities I have indulged in. It acted on the basis of media reports. Muraleedharan has not talked to me about my so-called dissident activities,” Padmaja said over telephone from Dubai.
Observers believe that Sonia Gandhi’s decision to single out Padmaja to be disciplined for dissidence already brewing against Antony was a warning to Karunakaran to mind his words. The senior leader had warned that people would reject any move to sideline him. A defiant Karunakaran has also said he would continue his open criticism of the Antony-led United Democratic Front government.
He has also made it clear that any decision taken at the party headquarters would not be binding on his group as it was not called to participate in the New Delhi talks. But Gandhi and All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Ambika Soni, who handles party affairs in Kerala, not only held extensive discussions with Muraleedharan and UDF convener Oommen Chandy but also decided to form a seven-member disciplinary committee. Karunakaran was not consulted.
No disciplinary action was taken against Sobhana George, a legislator loyal to Karunakaran, who demanded that Antony should resign for setting the police against her and her family.
