PC Chacko resigns from Congress, says groupism practiced by top party leaders

In a blow to the Congress in poll bound Kerala Senior leader P C Chacko on Wednesday announced his resignation from the party alleging group interest in deciding party candidates for the coming assembly elections Chacko who was a former working committee member of the Congress is the second senior leader to quit the national party after Jyotiraditya ScindiaScindia joined the BJP after his resignation over differences with Congress Madhya Pradesh state leadership Amid demand from a group of 23 senior Congress leaders for an organisational overhaul of the party Chacko who headed the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G Spectrum during the second UPA rule also alleged that the national leadership of the party has not been active for the last two yearsHe however did not announce his future plans but made it clear on his views on the BJP saying the saffron party is not a political factor in the southern stateI have sent my resignation letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and to Rahul Gandhi This decision I have been deliberating for the last many days Chacko told a press conference in New Delhi announcing his decision to quit over alleged undemocratic ways in selection of candidates for the Assembly pollsNo democracy left in Congress Candidate list has not been discussed with the state Congress committee he alleged Hitting out at the leadership of the two groups in Keralas Congress partyA group headed by former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and I group led by senior party leader Ramesh Chennithala Chacko alleged that only Chandy and Chennithala know who all are being fielded as the partys candidates in April 6 Kerala Assembly pollsI come from Kerala where theres no Congress party as such There are two parties Congress I and Congress A Its a coordination committee of two parties functioning as KPCC Chacko alleged The two groups have been active in the state unit of Congress since the period of veteran leader and late K Karunakaran and senior leader AK AntonyWhile the A group was then headed by Antony the I group was led by Karunakaran As the discussions between state Congress leadership and representatives of the party high command on deciding party candidates are progressing in New Delhi Chacko said the high command is agreeing with the proposals given by both the groupsThis groupism is the biggest bane of the Congress party in Kerala Kerala is facing a very crucial election and in this election the people want the Congress to come back But the stumbling block is the groupismwhich is practiced by top leaders of the Congress party said Chacko who was a former Lok Sabha MP from KeralaChacko who was also a former state minister said he had been continuously arguing with the high command to put an end to the groupism in the state but failed Unfortunately the high command is also agreeing with the proposals given by both the groups a reference to A and I groups he alleged Today in Kerala nobody can be a Congressman Chacko saidHe further alleged that the high command is a mute witness to this disastrous situation groupism and there is no remedy other than submitting my resignation Referring to the period of vacuumcreated in the partys national leadership after Rahul Gandhi quit the post of Congress president following the partys defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls Chacko said the Congress had been headless for the last oneandahalf yearsThere was no one in the party at the national level Chacko said recalling the situation that forced Sonia Gandhi who is facing health issues to take leadership of the party He said the Congress working committee in which he had been a member had unanimously requested Rahul Gandhi to withdraw his resignation but he did not yieldKeralas Congress leadership has not reacted to Chackos allegations Asked about his future plan including his views on the BJP Chacko said his assessment is that the saffron party is not going to make any gain in Kerala In Kerala BJP is not a factor They cannot win Minds of Kerala people are not in favour of BJP he saidHe said the Left parties are always fighting against the BJP and they have always supported the Congress I dont think that essentially ideologically we are enemies But we are fighting as political enemies That fight will continue Chacko said Responding to Chackos allegations of groupism Congress national spokesperson Pawan Khera alleged that the leader from Kerala was the one who had encouraged groupism in the Delhi unit of the party when he was its party inchargeTagging Chackos statement on groupism in Kerala party on twitter Khera wrote Says a man who actively encouraged and promoted groupism in Delhi Huzoor jaate jaate der kar di took too long to leave Chacko had quit as Delhi Congress incharge after the partys drubbing in Assembly elections there last year He later shifted to KeralaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever