PC Thomas-led Kerala Congress quits NDA, to merge with Joseph faction
Kochi,: The Kerala Congressheaded by former Union Minister P C Thomas on Wednesday quitthe NDA alleging that his party was neglected by theBJP-led alliance when theseats were allocated for the April 6 polls.
The faction led by Thomas would merge with the Kerala Congress headed by senior leader P J Joseph, which is a constituent of the Congress-led UDF.
Thomas was elected as MP in NDA ticket from then Muvattupuzha seat in 2004 Lok Sabha polls.
The Kerala Congress leader, who was a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government, said his party was given four seats in the 2016 Assembly polls but not a single seat was allocated this time.
Thomas said the BJP leadership had offered him Pala assembly seat but he did not opt for it due to some personal reasons. The Joseph -led Kerala Congress said both the parties will merge today.
It said Thomas has agreed to accept P J Joseph as the party's chairman and leader.
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Plea about 'threat' to Rahul Gandhi filed without his consent, to be withdrawn: Lawyer
Pune, Aug 13 (PTI): Hours after filing a plea in a court here claiming apprehension of threat to Rahul Gandhi from the followers of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the Congress leader's lawyer on Wednesday said it was filed without Gandhi's consent, and would be withdrawn.
He will submit another application on Thursday to withdraw the `Pursis' or the application filed before Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Amol Shinde, said Advocate Milind Pawar.
Pawar is representing Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed by Satyaki Savarkar, grand-nephew of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, over certain statements made by the Congress leader against the late freedom fighter and Hindutva ideologue.
He drafted the application without consulting Gandhi and the latter has taken a "strong exception to the filing of this Pursis and expressed his disagreement with its contents", the lawyer said in a press release late in the evening.
The application filed by advocate Pawar earlier in the day said that complainant Satyaki Savarkar had admitted that he is also a direct descendant, through maternal lineage, of Nathuram Godse and Gopal Godse, principal accused in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
Gandhi is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and recently held a press conference in Delhi, placing before the nation evidence of electoral fraud by the Election Commission, the application said.
"Furthermore, during the parliamentary debate on the subject of Hindutva, there was a heated exchange between the Prime Minister and Shri Rahul Gandhi, a matter well known to the public. Against this backdrop, there is little doubt that the complainant, his great-grandfathers (the Godses), those connected with the ideology of Vinayak Savarkar, and some followers of Savarkar who are presently in power, may harbor hostility or resentment towards Gandhi," the application said.
"In light of the documented history of violent and anti-constitutional tendencies linked to the complainant's lineage, and considering the prevailing political climate, there exists a clear, reasonable, and substantial apprehension that Rahul Gandhi may face harm, wrongful implication, or other forms of targeting by persons subscribing to the ideology of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar," the application stated.
The Pune court has already granted bail to Rahul Gandhi in the defamation case. The trial is yet to begin.
Reacting to the development, Advocate Sangram Kolhatkar, Satyaki Savarkar's lawyer, asked why the application was filed in the first place. "This is nothing but an attempt to delay the trial by moving such frivolous pleas," he said.
Satyaki Savarkar has filed a defamation complaint against Rahul Gandhi, alleging that in a speech made in London in March 2023, the Congress leader claimed that V D Savarkar had written in a book that he and five to six of his friends once beat up a Muslim man and he (Savarkar) felt happy.
No such incident ever took place, and V D Savarkar never wrote any such thing anywhere, the complaint claimed.
