UDF convener Adoor Prakash said he had not sought anyone’s support, in an apparent move to ward off suspicions that he was speaking with AICC general secretary K C Venugopal’s backing
He said he won’t seek anyone’s backing in future as well.
Speaking to reporters in Konni, he said he was acting on his own and that his reactions stemmed from his own experiences. He said he had not sought anyone’s support, in an apparent move to ward off suspicions that he was speaking with AICC general secretary K C Venugopal’s backing. Kottayam/Kozhikode/Kochi: On Friday, UDF convener Adoor Prakash reiterated the criticisms he raised on Thursday and added that no move was taken afterwards to reach a consensus on issues he had raised.
On the reported dissatisfaction among UDF constituents, he said if anyone is dissatisfied, it should be discussed at the next UDF meeting.
Later in the evening, Venugopal said Prakash’s statements should not be linked to his name. Venugopal said he had already faced enough criticism. He claimed that several persons were trying to blame him over the incident and said no one’s personal opinion should be read as his own. Venugopal said his party allows its members to express opinions freely and no one would be cut down to size over it. Earlier, Prakash said nobody from the party had contacted him since he went public with his remarks. When asked if he had anything more to add to his earlier statement, he said he had already conveyed everything. When asked if a section in the Congress was becoming a ‘corrective group’, he said the media is free to give its own interpretation. He said UDF had met only once after govt assumed office and attributed it to the chief minister’s busy schedule. Referring to Prakash’s remarks, Joseph said AICC would take a final decision since Prakash had said that he will take his concerns to the leadership. Addressing the media in Malappuram, he said that if there were concerns over the lack of consultations, the same should be raised within the party and the front rather than in public. He said he was unaware of any deliberate design behind Prakash’s criticism. What he said cannot be ignored,” she said.
Addressing reporters at Bodhigram in Adoor, he claimed that he would not encourage anything against govt and added that he was not in favour of airing party matters in public. Prakash reiterated that he would brief AICC on the issues within two or three days as it was his responsibility. On the appointments of IUML leader M K Muneer as chairman of the administrative reforms commission and Forward Bloc leader G Devarajan as the state govt’s special representative in Delhi, he restated that he was not questioning their eligibility and added that such matters should have been discussed within UDF. KPCC chief Sunny Joseph declined to comment, emphasizing that party grievances should be handled through internal forums. But revenue minister A P Anilkumar distanced himself from Prakash’s criticism, saying such matters should be discussed at the appropriate forums. Meanwhile, Mahila Congress state chief Jebi Mather supported Prakash. “Prakash is a senior functionary who has every right to express his views about having to learn about such matters through the media.