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Rivalry with Karunakaran no good: Antony
CM AK Antony admitted that his rivalry with K Karunakaran had affected the fortunes of the Congress party in Kerala.
Kerala chief minister AK Antony admitted for the first time on Thursday that his rivalry with K Karunakaran had affected the fortunes of the Congress party in Kerala.
"I have no hesitation in saying that the prime reason for the present uncertainty among the rank and file of the Congress is that after a year long battle between us, we have decided to sink our differences," he told the media.
"This has not yet fully reached the lower levels, and that is why I say the forthcoming election for the 20 Lok Sabha seats is going to be a very tough for us," said Antony.
Despite the Karunakaran-Antony bonhomie, the Congress activists remain divided, leading to clashes among their supporters in some places.
But Antony insisted that his government had performed better than the previous Left Democratic Front government.
"I very well know that we have done no miracles," he admitted.
Antony used the opportunity to hit out at the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which he said had become a spent force.
"Old slogans and dogmas still continue to haunt the Kerala unit of the CPI-M. So one of our main agenda will be to see that not a single CPI-M candidate goes to the Lok Sabha from Kerala.
"Kerala would have made even greater progress during the last three years of our rule had the CPI-M acted like its West Bengal unit.
"Look at Bengal now, where they have the highest number of multinational companies and there are even night clubs. They have changed but here the party hasn't, and that is the biggest problem for Kerala."
