States » SouthPosted at: Oct 2 2026 8:56PM


Congress leaders in Kerala split over UDF row as Adoor Prakash stands firm

Congress leaders in Kerala split over UDF row as Adoor Prakash stands firm
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 2 (UNI) Differences within the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) widened on Friday as UDF convenor Adoor Prakash stood firm on his criticism of the functioning of the ruling front, while Mahila Congress state president and MP Jebi Mather backed his concerns and senior Congress leader Rajmohan Unnithan criticised him for taking the issue to the media.
Prakash said the UDF had met only once since the present government assumed office and maintained that major decisions were being taken without convening meetings of the front or informing him as its convenor. He said he would apprise the All India Congress Committee (AICC) of the developments within two or three days.
Talking to newspersons at Konni, Prakash said he had raised the issue based on his own experience and had not sought the support of any leader before making his remarks.
"There is no conflict within the UDF. What I said the other day had to be said. I spoke only on the basis of my experience. I did not seek anybody's support," he said.
Prakash said the only UDF meeting held after the government came to power was at Cliff House and that subsequent meetings could not be convened for various reasons.
"The AICC appointed me. Therefore, it is my responsibility to inform them," he said.
He also clarified that he was not opposed to the appointments of Indian union Muslim League leader M.K. Muneer as chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission or Forward Bloc general secretary G. Devarajan as Kerala's special representative in Delhi, both with Cabinet rank.
"I am not against giving any position to anyone. I am not against giving positions to Muneer or Devarajan. They are leaders of constituent parties who worked hard to bring the UDF to power," he said.
His objection, he said, was to the absence of collective consultation before taking such decisions.
"As UDF convenor, I only said that such matters should be decided through collective discussion," Prakash said.
He also said he was currently alone in raising the criticism and had not sought support from anyone.
The issue, meanwhile, drew support from Jebi Mather, who said Prakash's concerns could not be completely dismissed.
Mather said Prakash was a senior Congress leader who had spoken from his experience and had the right to point out that important matters should not come to the notice of UDF leaders through the media.
She also linked the issue to the functioning of the Congress organisation, saying the Mahila Congress had been demanding a meeting of the KPCC Executive Committee for the past three months.
The demand had been conveyed to the KPCC president personally and through phone calls, email and a letter, she said.
Mather said she believed in internal democracy as well as party discipline and that matters requiring discussion within the party should be raised before the appropriate forums.
She maintained that convening the KPCC Executive Committee meeting was the responsibility of the KPCC leadership and said the Mahila Congress remained firm on its demand.
KPCC general secretary Deepthi Mary Varghese, meanwhile, said she understood Prakash's concern to be related to the lack of consultation over two appointments.
She said criticism and questions directed at the leadership had always been part of the Congress's internal democratic process and described such differences as a normal feature of the party.
However, senior Congress leader and Kasaragod MP Rajmohan Unnithan strongly criticised Prakash for publicly airing his grievances against Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan.
Unnithan said issues concerning the functioning of the government or the UDF should be raised within the appropriate party or alliance forums rather than through the media. He questioned the timing of Prakash's press conference, saying Congress workers and ministers were facing attacks from the Left parties at the time.
He said he had expected the UDF convenor to use the press conference to defend the government and counter the attacks against the UDF.
"The UDF convenor is responsible for creating a defence when the UDF government is under attack and launching a counterattack against those carrying out the attacks. Choosing that day to hold a press conference against the Chief Minister was not appropriate," Unnithan said.
He questioned whether it was appropriate for the UDF convenor to publicly raise matters that could have been discussed within the party or the front.
"If there are complaints about the functioning of the government or the UDF, they should be raised in the appropriate party forums or before the AICC. Is it befitting the dignity of the post to discuss such matters through a press conference?" he asked.
Unnithan also questioned whether Prakash's remarks represented the collective interest of the UDF or his personal interests.
He pointed out that Prakash himself had said that the Congress high command had appointed him as UDF convenor and questioned why he had not approached the high command with his grievances instead of making them public.
Unnithan said he was not aware of Prakash raising the issues at the Political Affairs Committee meeting and maintained that such matters should first be discussed within the party.
He also called for a reorganisation of the KPCC, saying changes in the leadership at the KPCC and district levels could help address organisational issues confronting the Congress in Kerala.
The differences surfaced after Prakash publicly questioned the lack of consultation over the appointments of Muneer and Devarajan. While Prakash has maintained that his objection is not to the appointments themselves, but to the absence of collective discussion, the issue has triggered differing responses from Congress leaders and brought the functioning of the UDF and the Congress organisation into public focus.
UNI DS
Tags: #Congress leaders in Kerala split over UDF row as Adoor Prakash stands firm
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