Congress, IUML in all-out war

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It was a full-blown war of words between the Muslim League and the Congress on Saturday over the fifth minister berth accorded to the League.

IUML general secretary K.P.A. Majeed kicked off the duel stating it was the League that made Oommen Chandy the chief minister, and that “he stays in office courtesy the League,” while Congress leader and power minister Aryadan Mohammed hit back, “Fortunately, the League leaders did not say they made the state of Kerala.”

However, as Chandy maintained a stoic silence, refusing to be drawn into the verbal duel, League state president Panakkad Hyderali Shihab Thangal also made an uncharacteristically strident statement in Kozhikode, saying the fifth minister was the ‘right of the IUML’ and some were unnecessarily creating a controversy over Manjalamkuzhi Ali becoming a minister.

“It has become some kind of an epidemic and Ali will remove such pollutants causing the epidemic.”

Majeed said in Malappuram that nobody should be under the illusion that “IUML will stay forever in the UDF suffering all kinds of humiliation”.

The demand for the fifth minister was not a sudden development. It had been raised during the formation of the ministry itself but IUML made concessions for the smooth formation of the ministry when other constituents lobbied for posts like that of the Speaker, chief whip and additional berths.

It was a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ that the demand of the IUML would be met after sometime, he said.

He also denied reports that the IUML tried to send a delegation to NSS headquarters to mollify the organization and said, “IUML is not such a weakling.”

Aryadan refused to comment on the statement of Majeed regarding pollutants and said that as his name was not mentioned, he would prefer to stay silent on the matter. However, he said the claims of the League resembled those of ‘a character in the work of Vaikkom Mohammed Basheer’.