Kerala Independent legislator to quit assembly

MALAPPURAM - Kerala’s Independent legislator Manjalamkulam Ali, who has been backed by the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), Monday said he was resigning from the assembly as he was being attacked by the party.

“I am really sad and am fed up of being attacked by senior CPI-M leaders. So I decided that enough is enough, and have decided to resign as legislator. I will be sending my resignation to the speaker very soon,” the Independent legislator told reporters.

Ali, a businessman, named former Rajya Sabha CPI-M member Vijay Raghavan but did not go into any details.

In the May 2006 assembly polls, he had defeated former minister M.K. Muneer of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) from the Mankada constituency. In the 2001 polls, he was elected as a CPI-M backed Independent from the same constituency.

Responding to speculation that he was being wooed by the IUML, Ali said it was too early to say anything.

“I have not made any decisions; with regard to speculation that I would be a candidate of the opposition, it is too early to say anything because the next elections are months away.”

Ali has said he is also quitting as director in the Department of Non-Resident Keralite Affairs.

The resignation comes just ahead of the local bodies polls later this month and is likely to cause problems for the CPI-M in Malappuram district.