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Kerala: Amid speech row, Congress denies reports of state party chief’s resignation
The PCC president made the controversial speech in Kannur (north Kerala) on Monday during a function on Jawaharlal Nehru’s birthday
The Congress in Kerala on Wednesday denied reports that claimed state party chief K Sudhakaran expressed desire to step down in view of his recent controversial comments on prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Earlier in the day, a section of the media reported that Sudhakaran wrote a letter to Rahul Gandhi citing the recent controversy and his ill-health, and expressed desire to resign. But soon after, senior party member Ramesh Chennithala and leader of opposition VD Satheesan rallied behind Sudhakaran and called the claims “baseless”.
“A section of the media is resorting to unethical practices. The [CM] Pinarayi Vijayan government is steeped in corruption and nepotism charges. To distract attention from them, baseless reports are getting fabricated by a section [of the media]. If you continue such tricks, credibility of media will be affected,” Satheesan said.
“The PCC president said it was a slip of tongue and expressed regrets over it. But still some people are fanning the issue. Sudhakaran never needs a certificate from the CPI(M) on his secular credentials,” said Chennithala.
Later, Sudhakaran also denied the report, and said, “Some people are in a race to spread canards. If it is true, I would have given it to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, not Rahul Gandhi who is busy with his yatra. We will find out forces behind such reports,” he said.
Also Read:Kerala allies of Congress raise concern over state chief’s remarks on Nehru
The Muslim League, the oldest ally of the Congress in the state, also expressed satisfaction over the way the latter handled the issue. The IUML had expressed serious reservations over repeated statements of the PCC chief that put the party on the defensive. The party high command even sought an explanation from Sudhakaran.
The PCC president made the controversial speech in Kannur (north Kerala) on Monday during a function on Nehru’s birthday, celebrated as Children’s Day. “Nehru is a symbol of the highest level of democratic consciousness that made BR Ambedkar the law minister. He was magnanimous enough to make RSS leader Mukerjee a minister in his own cabinet. He has large-heartedness to even compromise with communal fascism for democracy,” Sudhakaran had said.
Hours after the speech he expressed regrets and withdrew his words. “It was a slip of tongue while trying to stress Nehru’s politics of tolerance and large-heartedness. I was trying to remind Sangh Parivar and others about democratic values upheld by Nehru,” he said.
