Tharoor, Muraleedharan face the heat at KPCC leadership meeting

Thiruvananthapuram: MPs K Muraleedharan and Shashi Tharoor faced criticism during the meeting of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) on Tuesday.

Interestingly, many senior leaders and DCC presidents refrained from attending the meeting. Besides KPCC state leadership, the meeting was only attended by veteran leaders PJ Kurien and Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan. 

Earlier, Tharoor remarked that if he had the opportunity, he would have let smaller parties assume the leadership role of a united front to fight the BJP. The statement irked many senior leaders. PJ Kurien asked how the party could entrust Thiruvananthapuram MP with policy matters due to his public remarks against the party. 

Citing the rogue elephant 'Ariomban', Anwar Sadath MLA said that the party should use 'Kumki elephants' if necessary to handle such leaders. 

Meanwhile, KPCC expressed disappointment over K Muraleedharan publicly voicing his displeasure over the party ignoring him during the centenary celebrations of Vaikom Satyagraha. Organisers of the centenary celebrations clarified that they formally invited former KPCC presidents personally. 

The meeting also directed district-level committees to hand over the list of candidates nominated as DCC office bearers and Block Presidents within three days. A massive rally will be hosted in the background of Rahul Gandhi's visit to Wayanad on April 11.