Muraleedharan, Mullappally front-runners to head Congress in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram, July 7: With the new chief of the Congress' Kerala unit set to be named soon, sources in the know of things say veteran leader K. Karunakaran's son K. Muraleedharan and senior leader Mullappally Ramachandran are among the front-runners.
"These two names (Muraleedharan and Ramachandran) have been zeroed in on and the announcement could well be made very soon.
"Today a practice that has met with some success is the appointment of a President and a Working President in states. May be these two leaders could well be nominated for these two posts," a senior party leader who did not want to be identified told IANS on Saturday.
After V.M. Sudheeran quit as President in a jiffy last year, M.M. Hassan was first asked to officiate and then was given the post till the party high command zeroed in on a suitable candidate.
The Congress' Kerala unit was for several decades deeply divided between Karunakaran and former Defence Minister A.K. Antony and an unwritten practice was that when Karunakaran was Chief Minister, the post of the state chief was given to the Antony faction and vice versa.
In 2001, when Antony took over as Chief Minister, Thennala Balakrishna Pillai moved out to accommodate Muraleedharan as the party president.
But after 2004, things changed with Oommen Chandy taking over from Antony and Ramesh Chennithala becoming the president and since then it was these two leaders who head the two major factions in the party.
Things, however, changed when the party high command surprised everyone by nominating Sudheeran as the new president in 2014, much to the displeasure of the two factions. Many in the party believed this was a wrong move and the relation between Sudheeran and Chandy worsened and is also held to be a cause in the party's defeat in the 2016 assembly polls.
After Rahul Gandhi took over as Congress President, he tried to end the power of group leaders here, but his moves met strong resistance as both Chandy and Chennithala strongly opposed it.
According to a senior party leader, Gandhi appears to have been convinced by these two state leaders that yet another experiment could be disastrous for the party.
Of the present probables, while Muraleedharan is acceptable to both Chandy and Chennithala and also enjoys a sizeable following, Ramachandran has the full blessings of the party high command, even though he does not enjoy much of a support either among the leadership of the party here, nor the cadres.
"Well, in our party you never know, just like Sudheeran who was in political wilderness was made the party chief in 2014, there could be a dark horse too and one such leader is K. Sudhakaran," said the senior leader.
He however warned any wrong move would impact the party's future in the state.
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US President Biden assures peaceful transfer of power in January
Washington, Nov 7: Outgoing US President Joe Biden on Thursday vowed to ensure a peaceful and orderly transfer of power to President-elect Donald Trump in January and appealed to the people to accept the election results for the White House.
Biden made the comments during an address to the nation a day after Trump, 78, was re-elected as the 47th president of the US after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party's nominee.
Biden said he spoke with Trump and also with Vice President Harris, who he said ran an inspiring campaign.
Trump, who had lost the 2020 elections to President Biden, won this time both in terms of popular votes and electoral college votes.
“Yesterday, I spoke with President-elect Trump to congratulate him on his victory. I assured him that I would direct my entire administration to work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition," Biden said in his address from the Rose Garden of the White House.
"That's what the American people deserve,” he added.
"For over 200 years, America has carried on the greatest experiment in self-government in the history of the world," he said, adding that the people vote and choose their leaders and do it peacefully.
"In a democracy, the will of the people always prevails," said Biden in his address attended by members of his Cabinet and senior administration officials.
Biden said he hoped the election could also lay to rest the question about the integrity of the American electoral system.
“It is honest, it is fair, and it is transparent. It can be trusted, win or lose. I also hope we can restore the respect for all our election workers who busted their necks and took risks at the outset,” he said.
“As they did their duty as citizens, I will do my duty as president. I'll fulfill my oath and I will honour the Constitution. On January 20th, we'll have a peaceful transfer of power here in America,” Biden said.
Rebutting criticism of his economic policy, Biden said his administration is leaving behind the strongest economy in the world.
Biden said he also spoke with Vice President Harris.
"She's been a partner and a public servant. She ran an inspiring campaign, and everyone got to see something that I learned early on to respect so much: her character... She has great character, true character,” he said.
Biden added that Harris -- who took after Biden withdrew in July-- gave her "whole heart and effort" to her presidential campaign.
"I know for some people, it's a time for victory, to state the obvious. For others, it's a time of loss," he said.
Adding that campaigns are contests of competing visions and the country chooses one or the other, Biden said, "We accept the choice the country made."
"You can't love your country only when you win. You can't love your neighbour only when you agree,” Biden said.
His remarks are seen as an attempt to heal a country that appeared divided into two groups after the results of the bitterly contested presidential election were out.
"I know people are still hurting, but things are changing rapidly. Together, we've changed America for the better. Now we have 74 days to finish our term. Let's make every day count. That's the responsibility we have to the American people,” he said.
Noting that setbacks are unavoidable, he said that giving up is "unforgivable".
"We all get knocked down. But the measure of our character, as my dad would say, is how quickly we get back up. Remember, a defeat does not mean we are defeated. We lost this battle. The America of your dreams is calling for you to get back up,” he said.
“That's the story of America for over 240 years and counting. It's a story for all of us, not just some of us," he said, adding that the American experiment endures.
"We're going to be okay, but we need to stay engaged. We need to keep going. Above all, we need to keep the faith,” Biden said.
