Buzz over ‘home minister’s letter’ against CM Oommen Chandy
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: AICC has called Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, KPCC president V. M. Sudheeran and home minister Ramesh Chennithala for a meeting in New Delhi on December 22.
Chennithala, it seems, had written a letter to AICC leadership, saying the image of the Chandy government was a spoiler in the local elections.
Congress high command has also asked Mukul Wasnik, AICC general secretary-in-charge of the state, to be in Delhi for the meeting.
Mr Chennithala denied sending such a letter while Mr Sudheeran wanted its authenticity checked. He said the Delhi meeting was planned much in advance.
The purported letter says corruption had dented the image of the government, which reflected on the poll outcome.
“If the government continues in this state, winning the Assembly election in 2016 March/April would be a far cry,” it says, adding nepotism and authoritarianism have alienated people from the Congress and the UDF.
It also states that the saffron party’s alliance with the Ezhava community should be viewed seriously. The NSS, which supported the Congress, is now shifting towards the BJP and the LDF. In short, the Hindu community is attracted towards the BJP.
They totally voted against the UDF because of the minority dominance in the government. BJP coming to the second position in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation should be taken seriously.
They had opened their accounts in many municipalities and panchayats. The letter ends with a note that cosmetic corrections will not help, but surgery is
what is required.
Mr Chennithala said the "letter" was part of a false propaganda to malign his image. A senior AICC leader confirmed that Mr Chennithala had not sent a letter to AICC leadership and the letter being circulated in the media is to tarnish his image. “He along with other group leaders were asked to stay away from group politics sternly by the high command. So I sincerely doubt whether he would resort to such a blunder. The three leaders had submitted a report on the poll debacle to the central leadership,” he told DC.
Mr Sudheeran said there was nothing unusual in their Delhi trip. “We actually fixed it on Dec 15 and had booked the tickets accordingly. But the AICC leadership later asked us to postpone the trip and decided to go on Dec 22. The birthday of Congress falls on Dec 28. KPCC president’s Janraksha Yatra will be discussed in the meeting,” he said.
But the mystery is not yet over as the authenticity of the letter has to be ascertained. However, ‘A’ camp is aware of Mr Chennithala sending such a controversial letter, putting him in a quandary. They feel he has written several such letters aiming to ‘dethrone’ Mr Chandy. Tuesday’s meeting was called by AICC president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi. Apart from Mr Wasnik, Congress Working Committee member A. K. Antony will be attending.
Ramesh’s office denies sending letter
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala’s office has denied writing a letter to the AICC leadership saying the image of the Chandy Government was a spoiler at the local elections.
His personal staff member told DC that though Chennithala is yet to officially lodge a complaint, they are enquiring as to who is behind the ‘forged’ letter with the help of their own sources.
However, Chennithala had apprised KPCC president V. M. Sudheeran that he had not written such a letter. Sudheeran has informed that if required, the authenticity of the letter would be ascertained.
Download the all new Deccan Chronicle app for Android and iOS to stay up-to-date with latest headlines and news stories in politics, entertainment, sports, technology, business and much more from India and around the world.
