Action against rebels: Murali

By Our Staff Reporter

KOZHIKODE, APRIL 22. The KPCC vice- president, Mr. K. Muraleedharan, has said that there is still time for those who had chosen to rebel against the official Congress candidates to return to the fold.

On April 26, the party manifesto would be released, and after that all rebels would be expelled from the party, he added.

Mr. Muraleedharan was answering a query at a `Meet-the-Press' programme organised by the Kozhikode Press Club today, on the decision by the Congress leader, Mr. Cheriyan Philip, to contest the election as an independent candidate. The Congress is a mammoth party and it is difficult to accommodate all the contenders for party ticket.

Mr. Muraleedharan did not find fault with the UDF entering into a tie-up with the PDP. ``This is no occasion to conduct a postmortem on the PDP. Those arrested ought to be given a chance to explain their case in a court of law. The PDP leader, Mr. Abdul Nazer Madhani, has been in jail for the last three years and it is only in the course of justice that he be allowed to explain his case,'' he added.On the recent violence in Nadapuram, the Congress leader alleged that the police were acting at the behest of the CPI(M) as the events there revealed. The action against the panchayat president and vice-president was unjustified on any account. Those who were on a peace mission had been implicated in a case.

On the contradictory statements made by the senior Congress leader, Mr. K. Karunakaran, on the seat allocation to his daughter, Ms. Padmaja, the KPCC vice-president said the latter had made it clear at the initial stage itself that she would not contest if there was any controversy over her candidature. He refused to be drawn into a discussion on a likely family tussle in case of his sister entering politics.

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