Thiruvananthapuram: The faction-ridden Congress party in Kerala, which is passing through tough times since the severe drubbing it got during the May assembly polls, yesterday saw two senior leaders sparring in public. A bitter exchange of words took place between legislator K. Muraleedharan —son of K. Karunakaran — and party spokesperson Rajmohan Unnithan, both known for their razor-sharp tongues.
Muraleedharan opened up by stating that the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) opposition is a weak one and has not been able to cash in on the dismal performance of the CPI(M)-led Pinarayi Vijayan government. He also said that nothing has been done to fire up the party cadres.
This irked Unnithan, who went personal in countering Muraleedharan. He told the media that the Congress workers were shocked to see Muraleedharan attending a non-party meeting, along with Vijayan in the UAE, when the death anniversary of Karunakaran was being observed across the state.
"I have been a party member for the past 48 years and throughout my career, I worked for the party from my heart. Muraleedharan first ditched his father, then abused even Sonia Gandhi and other top leaders and then floated a new party.
"After that, he caught the feet of these leaders and returned," said Unnithan. Soon after this, Muraleedharan hit back by saying that the death anniversary ceremonies are observed based on the Malayalam month and stars, and he himself did all the temple functions on December 16.
