Thiruvananthapuram: A scathing remark against senior leaders in the Congress unit in Kerala by upcoming leader and MLA, V.T. Balram has kicked up a row among leaders in the party.
Balram had commented that the trouble that some Congress leaders find themselves in today is a result of the “adjustment politics” that the leaders of the two political fronts in Kerala have played out in the past.
Balram made the remark in a social media posting after the Left Democratic Front government decided to go ahead with the solar power case, in which the judicial commission that studied it has made adverse remarks against many Congress leaders including former chief minister Oommen Chandy.
Balram indirectly referred to a situation where the culprits in the T.P. Chandrasekharan murder case were seen to be dealt with lightly because of the proximity between leaders of the two opposing fronts in Kerala.
He went on to state that the situation that some senior Congress leaders were in now, facing vigilance and criminal cases in the solar power scam, could be seen as the fruit of such adjustment politics played out in the past.
What he did not say in many words was that the Congress party had used soft gloves to deal with Communist Party of India Marxist leaders who were accused in the Chandrasekharan murder case, while Pinarayi Vijayan is now ready to use the full force of law against Congress leaders allegedly involved in the solar power case.
Taking strong objection to his party colleague Balram’s remark, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said the Chandrasekharan murder case was thoroughly investigated and that only Balram would be able to say what he meant by “adjustment politics”.
Meanwhile, Balram himself clarified his statement to a local media on Saturday. He said what he meant was that adjustments were not being made between parties, but by some leaders in different parties.
Former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president, V.M. Sudheeran said “the situation arising out of the submission of the solar judicial commission report is serious”, adding that he would refrain from making public comments about the matter. He said he had apprised the Congress high command about the seriousness of the report.
