K Sudhakaran, president of the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee, in a letter to Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi, has recommended “severe and appropriate disciplinary action” against party leader KV Thomas.
Thomas, denying the KPCC’s decision, took the step after attending a seminar organized by the CPI-M in Kannur.
At a seminar on Center-State relations, Thomas lauded Chief Minister Pinarayi Bijayan as one of the best Chief Ministers in the country. Despite still being a member of Congress, Thomas also supported the Silverline rail project, which is being fiercely opposed by the party.
In his letter to Gandhi, the KPCC chief said that the state leadership had unanimously decided not to accept the invitation of the CPI-M’s party congress in Kannur, the district where 80 Congress members were brutally killed.
In the letter, Sudhakaran said, “KV Thomas, a former Union Minister and an AICC member, attended a seminar at the CPI-M’s party congress on April 9. He also attended the press conference for the last two days, condemning the ideology. The Congress party’s position and its political agenda.” During his conversation with the media, he made derogatory statements against the AICC and the state leadership, which deeply hurt the feelings of the party cadres and the families of the martyrs who gave their lives for the survival of our party. “
“After discussions with senior Congress leaders in Kerala, we have come to the conclusion that KV Thomas has violated party discipline and has acted contrary to the direction of the Congress party. Therefore, as the Chairman of the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee I am doing, ”the letter added.
The KPCC chief claimed that until two days ago, he and other senior leaders of Kerala had held talks with Thomas and asked him to refrain from attending the seminar.
(With agency input)
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