Congress mouthpiece criticises IUML's remarks on Rahul

The Congress mouthpiece in Kerala Thursday criticised the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), its alliance partner in the state, for blaming Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's "one-man show" for the rout of the UPA in the Lok Sabha election.

In an editorial, Veekshenem Daily of the Congress said it was unfortunate that a party like the IUML which has no role in national politics has made such a remark.

IUML is the second biggest partner of the ruling Congress-led UDF alliance in the state.

"The Congress party over the years has seen ups and downs and our party needs neither an entrance exam coaching from the IUML nor a home tuition from the IUML party organ on how to stage a comeback," the editorial said.

Even though the Congress -- and the United Progressive Alliance led by it -- was battered nationally in the Lok Sabha election, in Kerala the party won 12 of the 20 parliamentary seats from the state, while the opposition Left won eight. In the 2009 election, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) won 16 seats.

In its mouthpiece Chandrika, the IUML Wednesday criticised Gandhi for his "one-man show" during the campaign for the Lok Sabha election.

"People like Jairam Ramesh, who worked closely in the campaign during the 2004 and 2009 polls, were not taken into confidence this time.

"Things became easy for (the Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Narendra) Modi... also the Congress party did not even have a slogan," said the Chandrika editorial.

Veekshenem Daily said that despite a 25 percent Muslim population in states like West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, "IUML was unable to get elected even one local body member and it thinks that Kerala is India".

"There's nothing like a 'Rahul brigade', instead he has with him a team of committed youths and in the 2004 and 2009 polls, it won him dividends, but this time it did not click," it said.

Reacting to Veekshenem's editorial, senior IUML legislator K.N.A. Khader said that with both sides having vented their feelings, "the issue is now a closed chapter".