The Congress in Kerala on Sunday banned party leaders from attending seminars organized during the 23rd Party Congress of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) to be held in Kannur next month. The ruling CPI(M) has hit back at the Congress. The CPI(M) has invited Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and former Union minister KV Thomas to address various sessions of the seminar on national issues.
Tharoor has been invited to attend a seminar on secularism and challenges. Thomas was to address a session on State-Centre relations. Congress state chief K Sudhakaran said the party has directed all its leaders, including MPs, against attending the seminar.
Sudhakaran said that if any leader attends seminars of CPI(M), he will have to face action. He said that the CPI(M) is torturing people in the name of the proposed semi-high-speed rail corridor. In such a situation, keeping in view the sentiments of the people, there is a ban on attending the seminar.
Tharoor, however, told reporters that he was not aware of any restrictions. He said that if any such instruction comes from the party, then after discussing with Congress President Sonia Gandhi, a decision will be taken to attend the seminar. He also said that the CPI(M)’s Party Congress is a national meeting and there is nothing wrong in engaging in political dialogues. The matter will be resolved within the party itself.
At the same time, senior Congress leader Thomas is already upset over not getting a ticket to contest the Rajya Sabha elections. Regarding this, he said that the party high command will decide whether he should attend the seminar or not. The CPI(M) has targeted the Congress over this. The party’s state secretary of state Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said the ban reflected the “political pauperism” of the Congress.