KPCC wants 'disciplinary action' against Congress leader K V Thomas

The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) on Saturday wrote to party chief Sonia Gandhi, recommending a "strict and befitting disciplinary action" against senior Congress leader K V Thomas, alleging that his decision to attend a seminar organised by the CPI(M) in Kannur was a "pre-planned" one.

The AICC member was in touch with the Marxist leaders for the past one year, KPCC chief K Sudhakaran claimed in the letter.

The party's state chief shot off the letter to Gandhi immediately after Thomas took part in the national seminar organised by the CPI(M) as part of its ongoing 23rd Party Congress in Kannur and hailed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as the 'pride of Kerala'.

In his letter to Gandhi, Sudhakaran said the KPCC leadership had unanimously decided not to accept the invitation to the Party Congress of CPI(M) which is being held in Kannur, "the district where 80 Congressmen were brutally murdered" by the Left party over the past years.

"Upon deliberations with senior Congress leaders in Kerala, we conclude that K V Thomas has violated the Party decorum, discipline and he has acted in contradiction to the directions of Congress Party. Therefore, as President of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, I recommend you to take strict and befitting disciplinary action against K V Thomas," Sudhakaran said in the letter, a copy of which was released to media here.

The letter said the KPCC has reliably learnt that leaders Shashi Tharoor and Thomas had written to the AICC leadership seeking permission to attend the seminar, and the AICC president had informed them to comply with the decision of the state leadership.

"However, Thomas, former Union Minister and an AICC member, has attended the seminar held at the Party Congress of CPI(M) on April 9. He had also made press conferences over the last two days, denouncing the ideological position of Congress party and its political agenda," the Kannur Lok Sabha member said in the letter.

"During his interactions with the media, he has made belittling statements against the AICC and state leadership, which has deeply hurt the sentiments of party cadres and the families of martyrs who gave their lives for the existence of our party," Sudhakaran added.

The KPCC chief said until two days ago, he and other senior leaders in Kerala had held talks with Thomas requesting him to refrain from attending the seminar.

"However, it has become evident that his decision to attend the seminar was pre-planned and he was in touch with several CPIM leaders for the past one year," he said.