KPCC chief K Sudhakaran rubbishes reports of quitting, sending letter to Rahul Gandhi
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): KPCC Chief K Sudhakaran and the Congress leadership on Wednesday rejected as "baseless' the media reports about him writing a letter to Rahul Gandhi, expressing willingness to resign from the top party post in view of brewing controversy over his alleged "pro-RSS remarks".
In a detailed press note, Sudhakaran said the content of the letter is a "figment of imagination" of the media and would surely probe the source of the fake letter.
He also claimed that "unreal" things have been appearing in the media for the past few days now and suspected an "ulterior motive" behind giving such false news.
Referring to reports in a section of media that he had written to Rahul Gandhi, Sudhakaran said those who know nothing about the organisational affairs of the Congress were behind such fake stories and even if he wanted to send a letter, he would have sent it to party president Mallikarjun Kharge.
"People with common sense will understand the ulterior motive behind such reports. Those who wish for the decline of the Congress and the UDF are behind such news reports. The intention is to create confusion among the party workers and take advantage of it," he claimed.
The Kerala Pradesh Congress Commitee (KPCC) chief also urged party workers to remain vigilant and not to fall into such traps.
Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan and former home minister Ramesh Chennithala also vehemently criticised the media over the reports and extended complete support to Sudhakaran.
"False stories" were being peddled to divert the attention of the people and to save the LDF government, which was under attack over various issues including rising prices, letter controversy, illegal appointments in universities and so on, they said.
Addressing reporters in Ernakulam, Satheesan said the report on the letter, which appeared in a section of media, was a "fake news created out of thin air".
"No such letter was sent. The reports also said that there were references to the opposition leader in the letter, which has actually not been sent by the KPCC chief. I used to talk to him at least four to five times daily. If you (media) cannot find any news when you wake up in the morning, you should go for any other job," he said.
Defending Sudhakaran, the LoP said he is a leader who has always upheld a secular stance and he has already explained that his controversial remarks during the speech was a "slip of tongue".
The state and the national leadership accepted his explanation and there are no differences of opinion in the party right now, he added.
Chennithala also came out in support of Sudhakaran, saying he was secular to the core and did not need a certificate from the CPI(M) or the BJP to prove his secular credentials.
He also said there was no need for Sudhakaran to resign as party's state unit chief.
Sudhakaran on Monday had said that India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was a great leader who had shown his "magnanimity" to include RSS leader Shyama Prasad Mukherjee in his Cabinet.
He had also said last week that he had sent his men to protect the RSS 'shakhas' in Kannur district decades ago.
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Melinda French Gates resigns as Gates Foundation co-chair, 3 years after her divorce from Bill Gates
New York, May 13: Melinda French Gates will step down as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the nonprofit she and her ex-husband Bill Gates founded and built into one of the world's largest philanthropic organisations over the past 20 years.
“This is not a decision I came to lightly,” French Gates posted on the X platform on Monday. “I am immensely proud of the foundation that Bill and I built together and of the extraordinary work it is doing to address inequities around the world.”
She praised the foundation's CEO, Mark Suzman, and the foundation's board of trustees, which was significantly expanded after the couple announced their divorce in May 2021.
“The time is right for me to move forward into the next chapter of my philanthropy,” French Gates wrote in her statement. She organises some of her investments and philanthropic gifts through her organisation, Pivotal Ventures, which is not a nonprofit.
Bill Gates thanked French Gates for her “critical” contributions to the foundations in a statement, saying, “I am sorry to see her leave, but I am sure she will have a huge impact in her future philanthropic work.”
French Gates will receive $12.5 billion as part of her agreement with Gates, which she said would commit to future work focused on women and families.
The Gates Foundation did not immediately return a request for comment about whether those assets would come from the foundation itself. In an emailed statement, the foundation said that Suzman announced the decision to employees on Monday.
“After a difficult few years watching women's rights rolled back in the US and around the world, she wants to use this next chapter to focus specifically on altering that trajectory,” Suzman said of French Gates.
Suzman said he knew many had joined the foundation in part because of their admiration for her advocacy, especially around gender equity.
“I know how beloved Melinda is here,” Suzman wrote.
The Gates Foundation holds $75.2 billion in its endowment as of December 2023, and announced in January, it planned to spend $8.6 billion through the course of its work in 2024.
The Associated Press receives financial support for news coverage in Africa from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and for news coverage of women in the workforce from Pivotal Ventures.
