Has sixth cabinet post for League upset Congress? Adoor Prakash fires first salvo

Thiruvananthapuram: In what could be understood as the first gunshot of internal rebellion after the Congress-led government assumed power, UDF convenor Adoor Prakash on Thursday made it amply clear that Chief Minister V D Satheesan was taking arbitrary decisions without taking the UDF into confidence.

"As the chairman of the UDF, it is the Chief Minister who has to take the initiative for such meetings. Since he has not said anything, we have not been able to convene a meeting," Adoor Prakash told reporters.

The UDF convenor's show of disapproval assumes significance as it came a day after two crucial appointments were made by the Cabinet on September 30: Muslim League leader and former minister M K Muneer as chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission and Forward Bloc general secretary G Devarajan as Kerala's special representative in Delhi. Both are cabinet posts.

"Both of them are deserving people. But I have not been told of these decisions as the UDF convenor," the UDF convenor said, and added: "I will find ways to convey my displeasure to the AICC." He further said that it was "sad" that a UDF convenor knew of critical decisions through the media.

Muneer's appointment was also put to AICC general secretary K C Venugopal in Delhi. The Congress leader was told that the BJP had termed Muneer's appointment as the "sixth cabinet berth for the League". This is a reference to the 'fifth minister' controversy that erupted when the League was given a fifth cabinet berth in Oommen Chandy's Cabinet, a move that caused the charge of Muslim appeasement to stick to the Congress.

Venugopal's response suggested that he was either not happy with the decision or the way in which it was taken. "I am not responding to this," he said, when asked whether he was concerned by the BJP's 'sixth minister' charge. "I will not speak openly of those matters that need to be discussed in party forums. I don't intend to make this a public discussion by talking to the media," Venugopal said.

It is widely believed that it was the Muslim League's support that had convinced the Congress leadership to pick Satheesan over Venugopal as the Chief Minister of Kerala. Adoor Prakash's open revolt, some in the Congress say, had Venugopal's tacit approval.

In fact, Adoor Prakash ended up blaming the Chief Minister for the delay in decisions on crucial matters. "There are many issues that require discussions before decisions are made. When you ask me about certain questions, I am not in a position to provide sufficient responses," the UDF convenor told reporters.

One such issue is the sharing of corporation and board posts with UDF partners. "Even now LDF nominees hold these posts," Adoor Prakash said. Though he did not specifically mention them, matters that call for a quick decision include the implementation of PM-SHRI, the sale of low-alcohol liquor and the appointment of non-Muslims in the restructured Wakf Board. In the case of PM-SHRI and low-alcohol liquor, both the Congress and the UDF in general seem to hold a position that is at variance with the Chief Minister's.

Initially, the plan was for the UDF to meet once a month. However, the UDF has not met since July 31, the first time the collective officially met.

The UDF convenor was unapologetic about his public censure of the Chief Minister. "I don't think it is right to keep these things under wraps. I am opening up before you with the intention of letting the public know of what is going on," he told reporters. "Many decisions were taken without consultations in the UDF," he stressed.

However, Congress sources Onmanorama talked to found Adoor Prakash's timing odd. He chose to hit out at Chief Minister V D Satheesan on a day when the party's top leaders were expected to close ranks. SFI and DYFI workers repeatedly waylaid the sports minister as he passed through Kannur and Kasaragod on Thursday. This was retaliation for police action against the SFI in Thiruvananthapuram a day ago. The SFI and the Youth Congress broke into an intense street fight on September 30, allegedly after SFI members threw empty bottles at the Youth Congress march taken out demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The Congress was under attack from the BJP, too. The Congress District Committee office in Thiruvananthapuram was vandalised by suspected BJP workers on September 29. Same day a 'mandalam' committee office in the capital district was set to fire, again by suspected BJP workers. The wave of violence was set off by the Youth Congress's black flag protest against visiting Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Kollam.