It's best that Kurien approaches High Command: Chandy
Kottayam, June 10: Veteran Congress leader P.J. Kurien should approach the party High Command over why he was not re-nominated to the Rajya Sabha, former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said on Sunday.
Addressing reporters at his hometown, Chandy said the general norm for a Congress worker or leader if he has any grouse was to approach the High Command.
"I heard him saying he will give a complaint against me to the High Command. That's the best way. Once he gives the complaint, he will get the right answer to it," Chandy said.
"Kurien also mentioned that I am the main person behind he not getting a re-nomination. I think Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala and state party president M.M. Hassan have given a reply to it (they said it was a collective decision).
"I also heard him say that it was I who asked the young party legislators to demand that he should not seek re-election. Some of these legislators have already responded to that," he added.
For the past three days, Kurien has been breathing fire at Chandy, calling him the sole person responsible for the gifting of a Rajya Sabha seat which the Congress would have won to estranged former ally, Kerala Congress ( Mani).
Since then, party leaders like K.V. Thomas, K. Muraleedharan and A.K. Sudhakaran have urged that in the larger interests of the party, better sense should prevail and everyone in the Congress should remain united.
Senior party leader Pandalam Sudhakaran on Sunday urged former Chief Minister and former Defence Minister A.K. Antony to break his silence on the issue.
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HP Cong Minority Morcha delegation meets with party leader Venugopal over mosque row
Shimla (PTI): A delegation of the Himachal Congress Minority Morcha apprised the party's central leaders on Thursday of the atmosphere of fear created in the state by targeting a particular community and staging demonstrations near mosques.
The delegation led by Iqbal Mohammad, president of the state Congress Minority Morcha, also comprised imams of various mosques. It met with Congress general secretary K C Venugopal and its Minority Morcha national president Imran Pratapgarhi in New Delhi.
In a statement here, the state Congress Minority Morcha said the situation has become tense due to demonstrations by Hindu outfits in front of mosques and efforts were being made to vitiate the atmosphere and instill fear among Muslims.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is trying to take people of all religions along but some elements are trying to spoil the atmosphere and malign the government, it added.
According to the statement, Venugopal spoke to the chief minister over the phone over the issue.
Ten people were injured during a protest demanding the demolition of a portion of a mosque in Shimla's Sanjauli area last week. In Mandi, police used water cannons on protestors demanding the demolition of an unauthorised portion of a mosque in the town.
On Tuesday, residents of Kasumpti in Shimla submitted a memorandum to demolish a mosque in the area and similar demands are also coming in from Sunni and other areas in the state.
A dispute between a barber from the minority community and a local businessman in the Malyana area in the suburbs of Shimla on August 30 turned into a communal issue with Hindu groups demanding the demolition of unauthorised mosques and residents calling for the identification and verification of outsiders coming in the state.
