Two days after he was allegedly snubbed at Thevara SH College, KSU state president Aloshious Xavier on Monday secured a chance to meet Chief Minister V D Satheesan and present his case against the appointment of two government pleaders.

Top Congress sources said that the meeting was a compromise worked out by KPCC president and power minister Sunny Joseph. The CM, who had resolutely and with utter disdain said that the KSU had nothing to do with the appointment of government pleaders, was asked to show the KSU respect by agreeing to a discussion with its leaders. And the KSU leaders, in turn, were asked to bury their concerns. Choice of government pleaders, they were told, will remain the law minister's prerogative. 

After the meeting, Xavier did give indications that the KSU would put the appointment row behind them. First of all, he sounded extremely eager to snuff out the impression that the KSU was on the warpath with the government. Xavier said that the KSU had presented all the information that it had, "its convictions", before the Chief Minister. 

But more than what he told the CM, Xavier seemed worried about the manner in which his organisation's concerns were distorted by "certain faceless social media handles" to make it seem like a KSU rebellion against the UDF government. "Such propaganda is far-fetched," Xavier said. 

Xavier then picked an earlier remark of his that had hinted at such a rebellion and reused it to imply the opposite, that the KSU could never go against the government. "As I had said earlier, the blood and sweat that we had shed in the last 10 years were also instrumental in this government coming to power. This is, therefore, our government. And this is our Chief Minister. So the allegation that the KSU is trying to destabilise this government is the work of faceless people who revel in the anonymity of the social media," Xavier said.

Nonetheless, Xavier sounded only vaguely hopeful of the talks he had with the CM on Monday. "The CM was also once in the KSU. The ministers, too. All our concerns have been placed before the government," he said. 

Do you think the government will take a favourable decision. "I cannot forecast what the government will do," he said.

Xavier also safely avoided a political whirlpool of a poser on what the KSU would do if its demands were not met. "Our hope is that an appropriate decision that would factor in the spirit of KSU's concerns will be taken. But you cannot expect me to respond assuming that the government would take a particular stand," he said.

Were you satisfied with the meeting, he was probed. "Have I ever said that we were unsatisfied. Did you spot any dissatisfaction in between my lines? The CM listened patiently to all that we had to say. Evidently, it is the KSU man in him that prompted him to give us a patient hearing," the KSU president said. 

In continuation, Xavier made a remark that offered an unmistakable hint that a compromise has taken root. "The (Congress) party has also been briefed about the issue. The party is alert to what is happening. How can we say what our future course of action would be in a case that is under the consideration of the party," he said. 

Xavier, perhaps unwittingly, then revealed his organisation's fundamental complaint, and it was not the appointment of two lawyers who had SFI and ABVP connections. "Our basic grouse was that the CM had not listened to our concerns," he said. 

The CM's strategy was to shun the KSU. He was unwilling to meet KSU leaders and, on July 17, had even refused to acknowledge Xavier's presence at a function at Thevara SH College. (Xavier said that the CM had told him that he was not aware of his presence at Thevara College.) Even a senior K C Venugopal faction leader like revenue minister A P Anilkumar had told the KSU not to cross limits.

By agreeing to meet the KSU leaders, the CM has restored KSU's importance and honour.   

Nonetheless, Xavier said that the KSU stuck to its stand on the issue. "Jeona James has an SFI background. She was an SFI member in Law College. And even later she had showed clear Left inclinations, and this has been conveyed," Xavier said. The KSU had also objected to the appointment of T S Sarath as government pleader, saying he had ABVP links. 

Yet, he could not confirm whether the CM had assured the KSU that an appropriate decision would be taken. "Is it right for me to reveal all that was spoken at the meeting, line by line, before the media," he said.