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Mani, Kunhalikutty discuss crisis with Sonia

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI DEC. 20. The leaders of the allied parties in the United Democratic Front (UDF), K.M. Mani and P. K. Kunhalikutty, today called on the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, and urged her to take an early decision to end the crisis that has gripped the Congress in Kerala.

Mr. Mani, who is the Kerala Congress (Mani) group leader and Revenue Minister, said he briefed Ms. Gandhi about the political situation in the State and the effect of the ongoing crisis in the Congress. "I told her that the situation is explosive and that the Congress should take a decision at the earliest,'' Mr. Mani told reporters after a 30-minute meeting.

He said that while it was not for his party to offer any suggestions on the affairs of another party, as a constituent of the UDF, he asked Ms. Gandhi to resolve the situation. The Revenue Minister said that his party was neither pro-Antony nor otherwise, but followed its own path. He said the party had not taken sides in the current standoff between the two Congress leaders.

Mr. Mani also denied that he had suggested to the Congress leaders, including Ms. Gandhi, for a change of leadership in the State. The Minister said Ms. Gandhi had promised to take a decision soon to resolve the problem in the State unit of the party.

On Friday, Mr. Mani had called on senior Congress leaders, including Pranab Mukherjee, with the plea that the party must resolve the crisis at the earliest since it was casting a shadow on the UDF. He said, the allies had exercised restraint earlier on the ground that what was going on was an "internal matter'' of the Congress.

In a separate meeting, Mr. Kunhalikutty, who is the Industries Minister and Indian Union Muslim League leader, presented his assessment of the situation in the State to the Congress president.

Mr. Kunhalikutty said that during his 45-minute meeting with Ms. Gandhi, he had not offered any formula for resolution of the problem. However, he stressed that the issue should be settled as soon as possible in the best interest of the State.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mani today demanded that the Union Government reconsider its decision to postpone the winter break for schools in Delhi to January.In a memorandum to the Union Human Resource Development Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, he said since Christmas was a global festival, there was a need to retain the vacations during the period.

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