Kasargod: Congress state president Sunny Joseph MLA has reinstated four party leaders, including KPCC secretary Balakrishnan Periya, who were expelled more than a year ago for attending the wedding reception of the son of a Periya double murder case accused, and for defaming Kasaragod MP Rajmohan Unnithan.

The others brought back into the fold are Balakrishnan’s brother Rajan Periya, UDF Udma Assembly constituency chairman; former Periya mandalam presidents Pramod Periya and T Ramakrishnan, who also serves as the president of Periya Service Cooperative Bank.

In a brief statement issued on Wednesday, August 20, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said: "It has been decided to withdraw the disciplinary action taken by the KPCC on June 22, 2024, against the Congress leaders in Kasaragod district and reinstate them in the Congress party."

Though the KPCC statement offered no explanation, District Congress Committee (DCC) president P K Faisal said the move was driven by electoral considerations. "The KPCC president wants the Congress to bring all its leaders and workers together and fight the upcoming local body elections unitedly," Faisal said, adding that decisions on the reinstated leaders’ positions within the party would be taken later.

The four had been expelled in May 2024 after a KPCC inquiry found they attended the wedding reception of the son of CPI(M) Periya local secretary N Balakrishnan, the 13th accused in the murder of Youth Congress workers Kripesh and P K Sarathlal. Their presence at the event triggered outrage in the party and among the victims’ families. (To be sure, the special CBI court later acquitted N Balakrishnan.)

The two-member inquiry panel of KPCC general secretaries P M Niyas and M Subramaniyan had taken statements from 38 people, including the slain workers’ parents, who strongly opposed the Congress leaders’ actions. The report also noted that Balakrishnan Periya had used social media to attack MP Rajmohan Unnithan, deepening factional rifts within the Kasaragod unit.

When contacted, Balakrishnan Periya, an influential leader from the Thiya community, said, "I am eager to return to the party. This decision comes at a time when the Congress needs to be strengthened."