Govt pleader appointment row: Sudheeran praises Aloysius in veiled jab at Satheesan; rift deepens within Congress, KSU

Kochi: The row over the appointment of Senior Government Pleaders deepened as veteran Congress leader VM Sudheeran on Saturday publicly backed KSU state president Aloysius Xavier in an apparent jab at Chief Minister VD Satheesan, lending weight to the student wing’s stand and exposing the widening divide within the Congress. With Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and other senior leaders also defending the KSU’s right to voice dissent, while trying to downplay the rift, the controversy has evolved into an open display of factionalism within the KSU and Congress.

The controversy erupted after the UDF government announced the appointment of 31 Senior Government Pleaders. KSU’s state leadership and its Thiruvananthapuram Law College unit objected to the inclusion of certain advocates, alleging that some appointees had previously been associated with the RSS, the ABVP and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI).

The issue escalated after Satheesan dismissed the objections, questioning why the student organisation was involving itself in government appointments.

“Does the unit committee of Thiruvananthapuram Law College decide government pleaders? They don’t have a say in this. What does KSU have to do with the appointment of a government pleader?” Satheesan had asked while defending the appointments as being based on merit.

The political fallout became more pronounced at a function at Ernakulam Sacred Heart College – the alma mater of both Satheesan and Aloysius Xavier – on Friday. After addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister left the venue, interacting with those around him but not acknowledging Aloysius, who had stepped forward to greet him.

Although KPCC president Sunny Joseph on Saturday played down the incident, saying Satheesan was rushing to attend an online meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the episode quickly became a symbol of the widening rift within the party.

Responding to the incident, Aloysius struck a measured but firm tone. “The politics I have learned teaches me to smile when I see the Chief Minister of Kerala. I do not know whether he saw me or not,” he said after the event.

He also made it clear that he would not retreat from the stand taken by the student organisation. “When an individual who led violent attacks against us from the opposite side steps in as a Government Pleader during this UDF governance, my politics demands that I stand with the emotions of my workers. If the government considers this a mistake, it is my firm decision to repeat that mistake,” he said.

As the controversy intensified, Sudheeran used an Oommen Chandy commemoration programme on Saturday to publicly endorse the KSU chief in remarks widely interpreted within political circles as an indirect criticism of Satheesan’s handling of the issue.

Calling Aloysius, who was on the dais, to the podium, Sudheeran praised his willingness to stand by his convictions. “Aloysius Xavier is leading the KSU here. The determination to state one’s stance clearly before anyone is the greatest characteristic of the Kerala Students Union and the Youth Congress. Continue forward with that determination. Occasionally, some difficulties will arise, but all of that is natural,” Sudheeran said.

Chennithala also defended the KSU’s right to express its views. “If KSU workers hold an opinion, there is nothing wrong with expressing it. My belief is that the Chief Minister himself will take the initiative in this matter,” Chennithala said.

Adding to the pressure on the Chief Minister, KPCC general secretary PM Niyas criticised the government’s response in a social media post, saying questions should not be dismissed with contempt and warning “those who humiliate the KSU are humiliating the martyrs.”

Even as senior leaders rallied behind Aloysius, Satheesan’s supporters mounted a counter-offensive. In Ernakulam, banners supporting the KSU president, put up outside the District Congress Committee office by KSU district office-bearers, were torn down by rival KSU workers, underlining the growing factional divide.

The differences became more apparent when KSU state general secretary Mubas Odakkali and Ernakulam district president KM Krishnalal publicly disagreed with their own state president.

Addressing a press conference, Odakkali defended one of the controversial pleader appointees, advocate TS Sarath, saying he had represented several KSU leaders, including the organisation’s state general secretary, in legal battles involving MG University and Kerala University.

Odakkali also accused sections within the organisation of attempting to politically damage the government rather than resolve the dispute.

“The goal of certain individuals is not a resolution to the problem. Their objective is to deliberately sling mud at the government. Due to certain disillusionments and out of the animosity arising from those disillusionments, they are deliberately trying to tarnish the reputation of this cabinet. Continuously raising such allegations through social media does not suit a broad democratic organisation,” he said.

With the dispute threatening to widen further, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal directed leaders to stop airing differences in public and insisted that such matters should be resolved through internal party mechanisms.

Venugopal said efforts should be made to resolve the differences between the KSU and the Chief Minister, if any, adding that no leader should engage in actions that cause distress to ordinary party workers.

Later on Saturday, Aloysius, accompanied by MP Shafi Parambil, met the KPCC leadership to formally present the KSU’s concerns. Rejecting suggestions that the controversy reflected factional politics, Aloysius said the organisation would wait for an opportunity to explain its position directly to the Chief Minister.

“There is no rift between the KSU and CM. We have raised our concerns with the KPCC leadership, and the president will intervene. We will meet the CM on the issue. Linking the act of expressing opinions to group politics is not the correct stance. There is no group element involved in this; this is purely an issue concerning the emotions of ordinary KSU workers,” he said.

Revenue Minister AP Anil Kumar has maintained that the party remains open to addressing genuine grievances through organisational channels.