Kerala Congress (Mani) splits

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Congress (Mani) split on Thursday with a group of leaders led by Francis George quitting the high power committee of the party.

The splinter group will be reviving Kerala Congress (J) with Mr. George as its chairman.  However, P. J. Joseph, who originally led the Kerala Congress (J) before its merger with Kerala Congress (Mani), will not be joining them.

The leaders who have parted with Mr. Mani include K. C. Joseph, Antony Raju and P. C. Joseph.

Mr. George told the media that Mr. Mani had turned the Kerala Congress (M) into a commercial establishment.  The party was facing allegations of an unprecedented level.

He said that the protection of the interests of the religious and linguistic minorities were the founding principle of the party. Mr. Mani had even tried for alliances that ran against this principle.

He expected Mr. P. J. Joseph also to join the new party and lead it.

Mr. Antony Raju said that Mr. Mani had undermined inner party democracy in the party.  “We cannot approve of family rule.”

He added the son of Mani, Jose K. Mani, did not have the political stature to lead the party.

Mr. Raju said that they had not held any formal discussions with the LDF about joining the Front.

Opposition Leader V. S. Achuthanandan said that entry of the Kerala Congress dissidents into LDF would be decided after studying their political character. It could not be done without examining the matter in detail.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that it was not of concern to the UDF if some individuals left it.