Senior Congress leader and former Kerala chief minister K Karunakaran on Wednesday came out in support of his beleaguered supporter and legislator Shobhana George, an accused in the intelligence document forgery case, by questioning the authority of the party disciplinary committee to suspend her.
The former chief minister told reporters at Thiruvananthapuram that the committee headed by former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president C V Padmarajan had committed a serious breach of discipline by announcing the MLA's suspension without referring it to the party leadership.
"The disciplinary committee can only recommend action against an erring member of the party. The final decision is to be taken by the party executive," Karunakaran said.
The senior leader went so far as to say that the committee did not represent all sections of the party.
"The disciplinary panel, formed for the first time in the history of the state, was constituted unilaterally," he explained.
He said the faction headed by him had not got its due representation in the panel.
However, he said he would not oppose its decision since the panel was appointed by the KPCC chief.
The senior leader did not see the action as a warning to party leaders against openly criticising the Congress-led state government.
"Those who believe that it would end criticism of the chief minister and the government are mistaken. The criticism will continue as long as the basic policies of the party are neglected," he said.
Karunakaran said he was awaiting the conclusion of the Gujarat election to express his views on the follies of the A K Antony government.
"Anything I say now would affect the party's prospects in Gujarat," he added.
However, he lent support to the opposition's demand for convening a special session of the Kerala legislative assembly to discuss the agreement the government had reached with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for availing of financial assistance.
He pointed out that there was no discussion on the issue either within the Congress or in the Congress-led United Democratic Front. "It is essential to discuss the issue in the assembly to ensure transparency," he added.
