Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president and State Power Minister Sunny Joseph on Friday declined to make a public comment on UDF convenor and Congress MP Adoor Prakash’s criticism of Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan. Joseph said such issues should be discussed within party forums and that the Congress high command would take the appropriate call.The issue comes after Adoor Prakash publicly raised concerns about the way some decisions were being taken in the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government. Prakash said he was not consulted on some key decisions and said he would take his concerns to the All India Congress Committee (AICC). Key HighlightsSunny Joseph avoided a public response to Adoor Prakash’s criticism.Prakash has raised concerns about a lack of consultation within the UDF.He said he would place his concerns before the Congress high command.The disagreement has brought internal discussions in the Kerala Congress into public view.What did Adoor Prakash say?Adoor Prakash said several important government decisions were taken without proper discussion within the UDF. He also said that he often came to know about such decisions through media reports.Prakash said the UDF had not held regular meetings after the new government came to power. He argued that the Chief Minister, who is also the UDF chairman, should take the initiative to call such meetings. Prakash later clarified that he was not against the decisions themselves. He said his main concern was that he was not consulted in his role as UDF convenor. “Both of them are deserving people. I have no objection to their appointments. But these decisions should have been discussed with me as the UDF convenor,” Prakash said. What did Sunny Joseph say?Sunny Joseph did not enter into a public debate over the matter. According to the IANS report, he said that grievances should be raised through party forums.His response points to the Congress leadership’s preference for handling the matter within the party structure rather than through public statements.Why did the issue start?The immediate issue was the Kerala Cabinet’s September 30 decision to appoint IUML leader M.K. Muneer as chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission and Forward Bloc leader G. Devarajan as Kerala’s special representative in New Delhi, both with Cabinet rank.Prakash said he had no objection to the two appointments but questioned the lack of consultation with him as UDF convenor. What happens next?Prakash has said that he will inform the AICC about his concerns. The Congress high command will therefore have to consider the issue within the party framework.For now, Sunny Joseph has avoided expanding the disagreement in public and has pointed to party forums and the high command for further action. .
