Congress turns a divided house

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Supreme Court verdict on the Karuna and Kannur medical college admissions has virtually turned the Congress a divided house. The support given by the Congress-led opposition in the assembly to the government to pass the bill has been now questioned by a section of leaders led by former KPCC president V M Sudheeran.
If V T Balram was the lone dissenting voice in the assembly against the bill on Wednesday, leaders like Benny Behanan, a staunch loyalist of Oommen Chandy, also came out in open questioning the decision of the Congress to support the bill.

“It is a big failure on the part of the opposition that it stood along with the government to regularize the education business carried out by private managements. The opposition should not have supported the government and the court verdict is a big set back for them too,’’ said V M Sudheeran.

The government should not have acted like a tool in the hands of private managements and this is the reason why the state government had to face such a humiliation from the Supreme Court, said Sudheeran.

Benny Behanan, alleging corruption behind the government decision to support two private managements, said the Congress should not have supported it. The people of the state will now be suspicious of the role played by the Congress in the game, he said.

He wanted the KPCC leadership to convene the political affairs committee to discuss the situation and explain how the party took such a decision.

KPCC president M M Hassan and former chief minister Oommen Chandy justifying the party’s stand in the issue saying they acted out of humanitarian consideration. The party took the decision after listening to the concerns raised by students and their parents, said Oommen Chandy.

Hassan said that the party took the decision after discussion with all the senior leaders. Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala also defended the decision on the floor of the assembly.