THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Prominent ‘I’ group leader and KPCC general secretary K. P. Anil Kumar was conspicuous by his absence at the recent ‘I’ group meeting held here which was attended by the extended ‘I’ faction.
He was not informed of the ‘secret’ meeting as he had taken a stand in support of KPCC president V. M. Sudheeran on the liquor ban.
Another absentee leader was Congress spokesperson Pandalam Sudhakaran. But he was held up with a family issue and hence stayed back from the meeting, according to sources.
The KPCC office-bearers’ meeting and the extended KPCC executive meeting were held on Friday. But around 8 p.m. on Friday, most of the prominent ‘I’ group leaders and those of the extended faction of the ‘I’ group took part in the faction meeting which was arranged by a UAE-based industrialist-turned Congress politician.
Mr Anil Kumar had appeared on TV regularly demanding that all the 418 closed bars and the remaining 292 bars which don’t have five-star status should not be reopened.
The faction leaders who were huddled together were always against the bar closure. Mr Anil Kumar had recently held a press meet in Kozhikode on the bar issue inviting the ire of the Chennithala camp.
“It is quite clear that Anil Kumar was not invited for the faction meeting as he had taken a stand in favour of Sudheeran. The so-called ‘I’ group leaders owe their allegiance to the bar lobby though they proclaim that they too had supported the liquor ban,” said a senior Congress leader.
The ‘I’ camp was feeling restless over Mr Sudheeran gaining popularity and their agenda is to weaken the initiatives taken by him.
The faction meeting was attended by Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, Health Minister V. S. Sivakumar and Tourism Minister A. P. Anil Kumar and also represented by the extended ‘I’ faction led by MLA K. Muraleedharan and his sister and KPCC general secretary Padmaja Venugopal. Alappuzha MP K. C. Venugopal, Wayanad MP M. I. Shahnavas, former Kannur MP K. Sudhakaran and KPCC vice-president V. D. Satheeshan also were present.
