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UDF allies want to be heard

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI DEC. 2. The Congress high command's effort to address the prolonged crisis within its Kerala unit and the coalition government in the State will in all likelihood involve a detailed round of discussions with each of the constituents of the United Democratic Front (UDF). A demand to this effect was put before the party by the national general secretary of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), E. Ahamad, when the AICC in-charge of the State, Ahmed Patel, met him at his residence here late tonight.

While Mr. Ahamad will himself apprise the UDF constituents of his 40-minute-long meeting with Mr. Patel, the IUML leader said the Congress ought to learn first-hand the views of all its allies. "How the Congress goes about doing this — calling them here for talks or sending out its senior leaders to Kerala to discuss all issues with them — is for the party to decide,'' Mr. Ahamad told The Hindu shortly after his meeting.

Though the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, today met the Kerala Tourism Minister and recent recruit to the Antony camp, K.V. Thomas, no formal discussion took place between the father-son duo of the Congress in Kerala and the high command. With Prof. Thomas' meeting with Ms. Gandhi being billed as routine in which he updated her about the political situation in the State, the meeting between Mr. Patel and Mr. Ahamd is being seen as the start of this latest exercise to end the current stalemate that is over two months old now.

While both Ms. Gandhi and the senior leader, K. Karunakaran, were in the Lok Sabha for the few moments that the House met today before it was adjourned, they did not exchange any words nor even acknowledge each other's presence. But the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, K. Muraleedharan, did speak to Mr. Patel and the two are expected to meet on Wednesday morning.

Prof. Thomas is said to have informed Ms. Gandhi that the need of the hour was maintaining the unity of the party while ensuring discipline. As to whether he had demanded the removal of Mr. Muraleedharan from the KPCC presidentship, the Minister answered in the negative while maintaining that all members of the Karunakaran faction ought to step down from whatever office they hold in the party set-up if they advocate the formation of a separate "secular democratic front.''But time and again, Prof. Thomas said he did not favour anyone being thrown out of the party.

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