Youth Congress Suspends Three Kerala Leaders

Three Kerala Youth Congress leaders have been suspended from the organisation in connection with the violent disruption of the Youth Congress padayatra near Thiruvanthapuram on January 23, IYC president Sathyajitsinh Gaekwad said here yesterday.

They were suspended on the report of the Youth Congress observer K H Balraj who was present at the site at Kalaiyikavilla on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, Gaekwad told newsmen.

Those suspended were Jossey Sebastain, state Youth Congress general secretary, A P Anil Kumar, state Youth Congress vice president and V S Shiv Kumar, Thiruvanthapuram district Youth Congress president.

Regarding the demand for the removal of state Youth Congress president K C Venugopal, he said no such demand could be entertained during the padayatra. Any future course of action would depand on the success of the padayatra, he said.

 

Gaekwad said all Kerala leaders have been strictly instructed not to criticise any senior leader for the incident.

If this was violated, serious disciplinary action would be taken, he warned. He was confident that no senior leader would direct his followers to resort to similar goodaism.

Gaekwad said working committee member K Karunakaran, P C Chacko, MP, and Ramesh Chennithala, MP, had talked to him on this incident. He said he had earlier written a letter to KPCC president Vayalar Ravi about the padyatra.

Indian youth congress general secretary suresh kodikkunnil, mp, said k karunakaran, a k antony and vayalar ravi were the patrons of the padayatra and the palakkad rally.

Gaekwad said no senior leader of the party was involved in the incident. It was the handiwork of a group of disgruntled youth congress elements, he added.

The padayatra, which was suspended following the violent incident, has since started again with more support from the ranks, he said.