Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress high command has once again shot down the permission sought by K V Thomas to attend a seminar as part of the CPM Party Congress that is all set to begin from April 6. Earlier, the AICC had advised Shashi Tharoor and Thomas to abide by the decision of the KPCC on the issue.
Following the AICC stand, Tharoor had officially announced that he would not participate. However, the CPM continued to express confidence that at least some of the Congress leaders would attend the seminar. CPM Kannur district secretary M V Jayarajan had openly said that he expected Thomas to participate.
Thomas also said that he was trying to get the high command's nod. “I have written seeking permission to attend the seminar," he told reporters. He was optimistic. “Let's wait and see. There is time till April 9," he said. His talk was scheduled on April 9, the same day Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin is slated to address the party congress.
Thomas even saw his participation as part of attempts to mobilise a grand coalition of secular and opposition forces against the BJP. He said the CPM Party Congress was not a local event but a national one. He also argued that unlike in Kerala, the Congress and the CPM were not on the opposite sides of the divide nationally.
The AICC leadership, however, did not find any merit in the arguments of Thomas and asked him to toe the line of the state leadership. Congress' organisation secretary K C Venugopal has reportedly conveyed the high command's decision to Thomas.
The decision of Thomas to approach the AICC even after it had given its opinion is seen as a major slight by the state Congress leadership. Senior Congress leader and former KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran said that Congress leaders participating in the CPM seminar in defiance of the AICC ban would be an act of indiscipline.
The KPCC had stated that sharing the stage with the CPM was unthinkable at a time when there were widespread protests against the SilverLine project.
