Kerala Congress fated to live in political chaos

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the Kerala Congress is back in the news with a couple of its leaders left in a vortex of controversies in a state longing for it, once again the regional outfit has proved that it has to live with political jolts time to time and the underlying distrust between a section of top leaders and their respective supporters.While Government Chief Whip P C George is yet to tide over the ruckus over his controversial letter against the Vigilance court judge and his post becoming shaky as it is being put under the constitutional scanner, Water Resources Minister P J Joseph is facing fresh trouble on the SMS issue as he is being summoned to appear before the Thodupuzha court in person next week.Even though party leader and Finance Minister K M Mani is putting up a brave front, his discomfort began a few months ahead of the last Assembly polls, when George and Joseph severed ties with the Left while deciding to yield to the wishes of the Catholic church leadership and flocked under a larger Kerala Congress umbrella.When the fact remains that the holier-than-thou attitude and words of P C George have earned him more foes than friends both in and outside the party, Mani and his aides can only remain worried about the party’s loss of goodwill on a broader level in the state.In the case of P J Joseph, inspite of whether there is sum or substance in the blank SMS controversy, that the top leader is once again involved in a case with a woman complainant after the ‘touch-and-go’ case aboard a flight, is a matter of concern for the party.Again, there is a widespread belief in party circles that George has played a crucial role in the SMS controversy.“If one goes through the complaint of the lady and her former husband in the SMS case, it is clear that the case is cleverly cooked up with a tailor made script, perhaps with the aid of someone from Joseph’s close circles whom George might have used in the game plan,” a top Kerala Congress (M) leader said.It may be recalled that George, even while remaining untouchable to the Left for some time, had been gunning in the open for the then minister Joseph in the ‘touch-and-go’ case aboard a flight and also cornered T U Kuruvilla, who succeeded the Thodupuzha strongman in the last Achuthanandan Ministry, in a land scam.