Thomas Unniyadan
Later, KC(J) district president C V Kuriakose reacted sharply to Prathapan’s reported remarks.
He said the criteria for selecting a party activist for an official position should be competence and public acceptance, rather than whether the person is the son of a particular top functionary. It is unfortunate that Prathapan was commenting on the internal affairs of Kerala Congress, though he is from Congress,” Kuriakose said. AICC secretary T N Prathapan, who inaugurated the meeting, added fuel to the controversy by publicly stating that Unniyadan should have been given a position in the UDF govt. “It is not Prathapan who decides on who should be selected as the Kerala Congress minister. It is the prerogative of Kerala Congress brass to take such decisions.
Unniyadan, who has contested from Irinjalakuda seven times, won the seat four times, including in this year’s elections. Supporters of Unniyadan, Kerala Congress (Joseph) vice-chairman, are reportedly upset that he wasn’t given any official position in the new UDF govt. He had briefly served as UDF’s chief whip towards the end of Oommen Chandy govt. The programme, held under the banner of ‘Friends Circle’, was not attended by any KC(J) senior functionaries. Functionaries of UDF partners, including Congress and Muslim League, attended the meeting.
Thrissur : The internal rift in P J Joseph-led Kerala Congress appears to be widening, with supporters and opponents of dissident functionary and MLA Thomas Unniyadan openly coming to blows in Irinjalakuda on Friday. Unniyadan’s supporters had organised a felicitation meeting for him in Thrissur on Friday.