Rift in Congress party's 'I' group widens
The divide within the 'I' group of the Congress party on account of the controversial police record forgery has widened with one more group leader in Ernakulam being suspended from the party.
With this, the number of 'I' group supporters who came out against Tourism Minister K.V. Thomas in the last few days has risen to four.
By these suspensions the Congress party leadership has sent a strong warning that it would take seriously all issues involving indiscipline in the party.
The latest to be axed was Ernakulam Block Congress Committee general secretary Jayan Puthenpurayil.
The first to be suspended was Ernakulam District Congress Committee Secretary Lino Jacob, who came out in the open saying that the Minister himself might be behind the forging the police record implicating himself. He went on to add that Thomas was an 'expert' in fabricating records.
He cited the example of an anonymous notice defaming him and his family circulated allegedly by Thomas in 1998 Ernakulam byelections.
The party leadership's action is aimed at stopping the mudslinging within the party in the name of the fake record.
The minister's reported shift from the 'I' group led by veteran leader K. Karunakaran to the rival 'A' group led by Chief Minister A.K. Antony fuelled the ongoing slur war.
Despite the growing tirade against Thomas, Chengannur MLA Sobhana George, a key supporter of the Karunakaran camp, still remains the prime suspect in the forgery case.
The police probe into the matter has reached a stage where it cannot make any progress unless Sobhana is interrogated.
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