Politics
Kerala Congress Chief Signals Softer Stance on MLA Ramya Haridas Altercation, Urges Discipline
By G Anand
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph indicated on Friday that the party would take a lenient, conciliatory approach to the late-night altercation involving Congress legislator Ramya Haridas and two other party workers, which occurred at a house in Chirayinkeezhu last week. Speaking to reporters in Kochi, Joseph said he had received the findings of the inquiry commission set up to look into the scuffle, an incident that went viral and caused considerable embarrassment to the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government.
"Congress workers should conduct themselves thoughtfully. Reconciliation is the KPCC's guiding principle. The party will resolve all outstanding differences amicably," Joseph said.
Former KPCC president M.M. Hassan, who led the inquiry commission, could not be reached for comment. However, KPCC office-bearers familiar with the inquiry said the commission had found fault with those involved in the clash. The incident had given the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] ammunition to target the Congress party and the government on social media, and had also shifted media attention away from the UDF government's 'Re-Imagining Kerala' retreat held at the Indian Institute of Management-Kozhikode (IIM-K).
According to these sources, the commission recommended that party legislators maintain the responsibilities and decorum expected of those holding parliamentary privilege. It also warned party workers against resolving internal disputes through personal confrontation or in public settings.
Instead, the commission stressed that workers should raise grievances through proper party channels, particularly the District Congress Committee, rather than taking matters into their own hands individually or in groups. Such actions, it noted, could damage party unity and undermine the KPCC's political and organizational messaging.
A Congress insider said the commission also underscored the need for the KPCC to place workers who violate party discipline on strict notice, to prevent any perceived leniency from leadership being misread as tacit approval for public disputes—while still allowing room for workers to express remorse and correct their behavior.
The sources pointed to a recent instance where Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan accepted an apology from Thiruvananthapuram District Congress Committee (DCC) member Anil Kumar, also known as Chenthi Anil, who had previously been expelled by the KPCC for obstructing the Chief Minister's motorcade.
In another earlier case, the KPCC reinstated former KPCC secretary P. Balakrishnan and several other party workers who had been suspended for attending the wedding of a CPI(M) leader linked to the 2019 murders of Congress workers Kripesh and Sarath Lal in Periye, Kasargode—an act the party said had sent the wrong message to its rank and file.
Additionally, the KPCC reportedly issued only a warning to Thiruvananthapuram DCC general secretary A. Prijin Babu after a show-cause notice was served to him for allegedly creating the impression of internal leadership discord. Babu had paid for newspaper advertorials supporting Ramesh Chennithala for the Chief Minister's post following the UDF's electoral victory.
Separately, in July, the KPCC had cautioned party spokespersons against airing internal disputes on television talk shows, though it did not pursue any disciplinary measures at that time.