Leaders of various United Democratic Front (UDF) constituents gave a warm welcome to Kerala Congress (M) leader K.M. Mani on his arrival to attend a high-power committee (HPC) meeting after a break of two years, even as demonstrations and expressions of resentment, mainly from the Congress cadre, had a free run outside.
“I never knew there was enough and more affection for me,” was how Mr. Mani responded to the welcome given to him by Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, Congress general secretary Oommen Chandy, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president M.M. Hassan, Indian Union Muslim League leader P.K. Kunhalikutty and others.
UDF convener P.P. Thankachan was conspicuous by his absence, though he later issued a statement that he informed the coalition leaders about his inability to attend the meeting owing to some personal inconvenience. He denied news reports that he had boycotted the meeting.
The KC(M) decided to break its four-decade-long ties with the Congress and the UDF on August 7, 2016, suffocated by the miserable defeat in the May Assembly elections, harried by the bar bribery case and the deficient trust quotient.
Mr. Mani arrived soon after a session of the KC(M) legislature party, which formally approved the party’s entry formula. He was accompanied by C.F. Thomas, P.J. Jospeh, Jose K. Mani, Joy Abraham, Roshi Augustine and Mons Joseph.
Decision justified
Speaking to mediapersons, Mr. Chennithala said all UDF-KPCC meetings had witnessed persistent calls for bringing back the KC (M) back to the fold. All constituents had unanimously made such a demand because the UDF would gain strength only if the KC(M) too was in it and take up the struggle against the anti-people policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left Democratic Front.
He said some urgent decisions would have to be taken in peculiar political circumstances and it might not be possible to put it to a debate in party forums. He recalled several such decisions, including the decision to bring in the Revolutionary Socialist Party by giving it the Kollam Lok Sabha seat in 2014. It had given a Rajya Sabha seat to the Janata Dal (United) in order to cover up the defeat that its leader M.P. Veerendrahumar had suffered in the Palakkad Lok Sabha seat in 2014. Such decisions were not discussed in any forums, he said.