Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Resentment brewing over DCC formation

N.J. Nair

May lead to exodus of grassroots-level workers to National Congress(I)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: : Resentment is brewing in the Congress over the announcement of the new District Congress Committee (DCC), excluding many prominent activists in the district.

The new committee announced by a panel of senior leaders, it is feared, would once again revive groupism and pave the way for an exodus of grassroots workers to the National Congress (Indira) camp.

The 14 Assembly segments have been divided into 28 mandalams and each mandalam is represented by two KPCC and six DCC members. All office-bearers of the existing district committee would automatically figure in the new panel too.

Going by the AICC directive, elections were avoided and the members were chosen on the basis of a consensus among senior leaders representing all the groups, which were supposed to be active in the party, sources said.

The formation of the new committee was done by a panel of leaders comprising DCC president K. Mohan Kumar; Thampanoor Ravi; M.M. Hassan; M.A. Vaheed; and Varkala Kahar, MLAs; Thalekunnil Basheer; Palode Ravi; V.S. Sivakumar; T. Sarathchandra Prasad; C. Mohanachandran; V. Prathapa Chandran; and P.K. Venugopal.

Though the leadership claimed that the committee had been formed without any group considerations, leaders of all factions had been given due representation and the selection had been made broadly on the basis of group affiliations.

When the committee announced the first list itself, many of the prominent activists had come out openly against the "arbitrary" manner in which the members had been selected. The main grouse was that those who had been actively involved in organisational activities when the UDF was in the opposition and in the forefront of many agitations had been excluded by the senior leaders. Those who had quit the `I' group led by K. Karunakaran ignoring their prospects and even the front-runners of the `A' group had not got their due, it was felt. The best examples are the cases of Youth Congress district vice-president M.A. Latheef, a follower of the former Chief Minister A.K. Antony, and the Youth Congress leader Chempazhanthy Anil.

The names of both the leaders have not figured in the list. Mr. Anil, who was a staunch loyalist of Mr. Karunakaran, had left the group following differences of opinion over splitting the party. He was also convenor of the southern region rally organised by the party in Thiruvananthapuram.

Mr. Latheef was also a prominent presence in the party's programmes.

Those who have been excluded are learnt to have taken up their case with the senior leaders, including Mr. Antony, but it remains to be seen whether their grievances would be redressed.

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