By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : With the Kerala Congress Wednesday once again decided against readmitting K. Muraleedharan – the son of former chief minister K. Karunakaran, the man himself was disappointed but willing to wait.
The decision to not take back Muraleedharan came at a state executive meeting of the party.
“I can’t understand why, despite owning up to all my faults, I continue to be unwanted. Now that the decision has come, I am not rushing to the All India Congress Committee (AICC). One good thing is that some people today asked that I be taken back. I will rather wait for things to clear up,” added Muraleedharan.
State Congress chief Ramesh Chennithala said: “Even though the party’s doors are open to anyone, Muraleedharan’s case is different because it was Congress president Sonia Gandhi who suspended Muraleedharan.
“In today’s meeting this issue was discussed and it was decided to stand by our decision that was taken in August last year. We reiterate that decision,” he said.
In the August meeting of the party, it was decided that Muraleedharan need not be re-admitted into the party.
“In today’s (Wednesday) executive meeting, a few leaders had a different opinion and hence I will submit a detailed report of the entire proceedings to the Congress. I do not have a personal opinion because my opinion is the opinion of the party.
“We consider Karunakaran as the supreme leader but the general opinion among a cross-section of the party is that Muraleedharan need not be re-admitted,” said Chennithala.
Chennithala had earlier said a daylong meeting had been called to discuss Muraleedharan’s re-entry after 91-year-old Karunakaran requested it.
In the morning, it was Karunakaran who spoke first and asked the executive to consider taking Muraleedharan back.
While senior leaders like V.M. Sudheeran, P.C. Chacko and K.K. Ramachandran batted for Muraleedharan, a majority of the leaders, including leader of opposition Oommen Chandy and Chennithala, said the general opinion was against his re-admission.
The father-son duo had walked out of the Congress in 2005 and formed the Democratic Indira Congress-Karunakaran. One year later, they found the going tough and merged the party with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for their political survival.
When this gamble too failed to pay off, Karunakaran, much against the wishes of his son, returned to the Congress in December 2007. But Muraleedharan preferred to remain the Kerala president of the NCP.
With their fortunes dipping, Muraleedharan quit the NCP last year and since then has been eyeing a return to the Congress.