Muraleedharan seeks to return to Congress, Chandy refutes moves

PALAKKAD - While former Kerala chief minister K.Karunakaran’s son K.Muraleedharan is meeting Congress leaders in Delhi to plead for his re-entry to the party, leader of opposition Oommen Chandy Friday said no such talks were going on this issue.

When asked if Muraleedharan will make a re-entry to the party, Chandy said the decision of the party high command is final.

“None of you should think that talks for this (Muraleedharan’s re-entry) are going on in Delhi. No such talks are taking place there,” he said when speaking to reporters here.

Muraleedharan, who has been camping in Delhi since Wednesday, has already met party general secretary in charge of Kerala Mohsina Kidwai and called on Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi Thursday. He had a meeting with Defence Minister A.K.Antony Friday.

Emerging from the meeting, he told reporters that Antony has asked him to maintain silence and not to make any statements.

When informed of Chandy’s statement, Muraleedharan said Antony had advised him not to fall into the trap set by the media by responding to provocative questions.

Even though in August the state unit of the party had decided not to re-admit Muraleedharan, things turned to his advantage last week when his father suddenly took ill.

Since then, there appears to be a soft corner towards Muraleedharan from a section of the party leaders who were initially opposed to his re-entry.

Muraleedharan was suspended from the Congress for anti-party activities in 2005, following which he and Karunakaran formed the Democratic Indira Congress-Karunakaran (DIC-K). A year later, the DIC-K merged with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Muraleedharan was expelled from the NCP Aug 1 this year after he expressed his interest in returning to the Congress. Karunakaran returned to the party fold in December 2007, two years after his breakaway party failed to make a dent .