M A I N   N E W S

Karunakaran to quit Rajya Sabha

Thiruvananthapuram, April 29
Preparing for a possible break with the Congress, senior leader from Kerala K. Karunakaran today said he has decided to quit his Rajya Sabha seat which he won as the party candidate a year ago.

"I have taken the decision. Only the procedures have to be followed," Mr Karunakaran told television channels ahead of his faction's crucial convention to he held in Thrissur on May 1.

"I am very much for resigning. I don't want to divulge anything except the Rajya Sabha resignation," the octogenarian leader who has, of late, been on a collision course with the party high command said.

Evading a direct reply whether he would put in his papers before the May 1 convention, Mr Karunakaran said, "I have made up my mind to resign and the question whether it is to be done at the convention or after it is just a matter of procedure."

Mr Karunakaran, three time Chief Minister of Kerala, was elected to the Rajya Sabha in April 2004. — PTI

Congress keeps watch on Kerala
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 29
The Congress is keeping a close watch on the unfolding events in Kerala where senior leader K. Karunakaran today announced his decision to resign from the Rajya Sabha seat even as his faction prepared to float a new party.

“I think it is proper on my part to resign when it becomes difficult to continue in the post as the party nominee,” he told reporters in Thiruvanathapuram ahead of the May 1 crucial convention being held in Thrissur by his loyalists to formally launch a new party. Mr Karunakaran has been at loggerheads with the Congress leadership for quite some time as his demand for the removal of Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy has been rejected. Matters came to a head when the AICC issued an indirect warning to the octogenarian leader by expelling his son K. Muraleedharan for indulging in factionalism and openly criticising the state leadership.

The expulsion, however, has not helped to stem the rebellion in the Kerala Congress. Instead of backtracking, Mr Karunakaran has indicated that he will fight to the finish and will not hesitate to split the Congress. He fixed May 1 as the deadline for this task.

The AICC has decided to play down these developments. “There are still two more days to go .. we will see if Mr Karunakaran actually quits or it is only an empty threat,” remarked a senior AICC functionary.

When questioned about Mr Karunakaran’s announcement, Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said, “We will definitely respond when it happens.”