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The Rediff Interview/ K Karunakaran

'The high command should not test my patience'

In 1991, everyone called K Karunakaran a kingmaker. Truly, those days, he was a master politician. It was the senior Congress leader and former chief minister of Kerala who helped P V Narasihma Rao become prime minister. But Karunakaran is sulking these days. And the grand old man of the Congress party is upset for justifiable reasons.

Ever since Sonia Gandhi took over as Congress president, Karunakaran has not been anywhere in the reckoning in crucial party matters. He feels he has been slighted by Mrs Gandhi. A coterie around the Congress president -- consisting of her powerful private secretary Vincent George, senior party leader Arjun Singh and influential Congress leaders from Kerala like A K Antony and Ramesh Chennithala -- have ensured that Karunakaran is left in the lurch in all party matters. Last month, Karunakaran requested Mrs Gandhi to replace the state Youth Congress president K C Venugopal who has been holding the post for the past nine years. It was simply ignored.

Peeved, Karunakaran -- who has a large following in the state -- is fighting back. In an attempt to promote his son K Muralidharan -- who himself is a member of Parliament from Kozhikode -- Karunakaran last month convened a Congress rally which was attended by more than three lakh party workers.

The factional fighting between Karunakaran and Antony has reached such proportions in the state that the Congress-led United Democratic Front is in dire straits. The two senior leaders often declare a short-term truce, but their rivalry has left the Congress in a bad shape in the state. Other UDF partners have publicly admonished Karunakaran and Antony that the front will eat a humble pie if they do not make up.

Though old age has gripped him, Karunakaran says he is not a rebel, but a committed Congress worker who wants to fight and lead the party in the right direction. In exclusive interview with Associate Editor George Iype, Karunakaran speaks about the crisis that has gripped the Congress party.

What do you think is wrong with the Congress?

Who said anything is wrong with the Congress? Nothing is wrong with the Congress party. But there are some vested interests that are trying to misdirect the leadership and destroy the party.

Who are these vested interests? Can you name them?

No, I do not want to name the people. Everyone knows them.

Are you happy with the leadership of Sonia Gandhi?

I have been loyal to the Congress party and the Gandhi family for many years. In my long political career, I have never gone out of the party and come back. I am fully satisfied with the leadership of Sonia Gandhi. If the party stands united today, it is because of Sonia Gandhi.

But the party leadership has refused to listen to your demands especially those concerning Kerala.

If many of my demands are not heard by the party leadership, the fault does not lie with Sonia Gandhi. It is the people who advise her who are responsible for this state of affairs in the Congress. If the Congress party is facing a crisis today, it is because the party leadership has failed to listen to senior leaders like me.

Take for example the case of Kerala. We have been demanding the restructuring of the state unit for long. The Youth Congress has been led by K C Venugopal for nine years. We want many changes in the state unit so that the Congress can face the assembly elections next year unitedly. But the party leadership has failed to listen to my demands and pleas.

Do you think your rivals in the party are trying to malign you?

Yes, there are three-four leaders who are trying to malign me before the party high command. And it is sad that the high command is dancing to the tune of these leaders who are working against the interests of the party.

Is A K Antony one of these rivals?

Antony and I are good friends. But our differences of opinions on many issues have been continuing for many years now. Antony is a sincere Congressman, but he lacks the charisma of a leader. He is a leader who does not have the courage to take tough and stern decisions. He is just concerned about himself and his group leaders, not about the Congress party as a whole. That is why problems persist between us.

So then why don't you recommend to the party high command to replace Antony with you as the United Democratic Front leader in Kerala?

When the party high command is deaf, my pleadings and requests are of no use.

But Antony supporters allege that your only interest these days is to promote your son K Muralidharan. They say you want to ensure that your son becomes the president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee.

It is rubbish. Just because my son is in politics, they are coming out with baseless arguments. Muralidharan is in politics today because of his ability as a good and efficient leader. He has won elections and has proved to be a good party worker and parliamentarian. He is now the vice-president of the party's state unit. Therefore, there is nothing wrong if his supporters want him to be the party president in the state. He does not need my help to become the party president.

If you would recall, Antony had become the KPCC president at the age of 33. It was me who supported and recommended him then. So his supporters are forgetting history. What we have been demanding is that the KPCC should be elected through organisational polls and not through backdoor influence. Our demands are genuine and the party leadership does not listen to us, the Congress will have to pay a heavy price in Kerala.

Do you think holding organisational polls is essential for the Congress to fight the Left parties in Kerala?

Yes, surely. The Congress party has become moribund in the state because of lack of restructuring and organisational polls. Especially the youth wing of the party is ineffective in fighting the CPIM.

But if the party leadership does not hold organisational elections as you demand, what is your next course of action?

My followers and supporters in the state are worried and restive. Everyday hundreds of them come to me with various plans. Some want me to constitute a parallel Youth Congress wing to fight the Left parties in the state. But I am holding back from taking any provocative decisions because I care for the unity of the party.

How long will you hold back?

I do not know. But I would like to tell the high command not to test my patience for long.

Do you have any plans to go out of the party and align with former Congress leaders like Sharad Pawar, P A Sangma etc?

I have been a loyal Congressman all these years. I will not go out of the party on my own.

But if you are expelled, what will be your course of action?

Let them expel me first. I will show them who I am and what I am capable of doing.

Don't you think the factional war in the party will affect the forthcoming local bodies elections in Kerala?

My group is keeping quite these days because we want the United Democratic Front to win the elections to the local bodies.

Aren't the UDF partners unhappy because the Congress is in disarray on the eve of assembly elections?

Naturally, they are unhappy. But we have a bright chance in the elections if we forget the differences. Most important, unity in the Congress is paramount to win any elections in the state. I am waiting for the younger Congress leaders in the state to forget their ego and work for the party.

The Rediff Interviews

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