Controversial remarks on Che Guevera and Kamal: BJP buries controversies

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The BJP has forgiven the two leaders, Mr C. K. Padmanabhan, national executive committee member and former state president, and Mr A. N. Radhakrishnan, general secretary, for their controversial remarks on Che Guevera and filmmaker Kamal. The decision was taken at the party’s state council meeting in Kottayam on Tuesday that was held for the first time after Mr Kummanam Rajasekharan took over as party president. Mr Kummanam wanted the party to take advantage of the present political situation in the state instead of harping on intra-party controversies. The RSS leadership was also keen on settling the issue.

“For long, CKP had not been given a decent space in the party. His equations with the RSS leadership had changed during the Thiruvananthapuram by-election in 2005 as he had got only 36,000 votes due to lack of support from the RSS cadres,” said a party source. It is said that the CPM was trying to woo CKP back to its fold if he is sidelined in the party. The agenda on bringing former BJP general secretary P. P. Mukundan back to the party was not taken up by Mr Kummanam shocking a section of BJP leaders. The state RSS leadership had demanded that he should return to the party fold. BJP MP Nalin Katil warned the CPM of central intervention if it continued its attack on the BJP men. Union urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu will inaugurate the concluding session of the three-day meeting on Wednesday.