The son and daughter of late Congress leader K. Karunakaran presented a united face here on Sunday, saying they had decided to bury the differences which had strained their ties for the past five years.
Karunakaran, who passed away on December 24, 2010, died a deeply saddened man after he failed to broker peace between his son K. Muraleedharan and daughter Padmaja Venugopal.
Since his death, both the children have stayed put here, where the veteran leader was cremated, and addressed a joint press conference here on Sunday. “We have made a conscientious decision that the family will now remain united and there would be no political difference. My father was of the opinion that his family should remain united in both politics and in the family and it would be adhered to in all aspects,” said Mr Muraleedharan. Seated besides her brother, Padmaja said that their late father always wanted to see them together.
“This should have happened when my father was alive. We all know that some people did benefit because we were not united and now that’s the end of the difference of opinion that we have had in the past,” she said.
The differences between the two arose in 2005 when much against his wish, Karunakaran succumbed to Mr Muraleedharan’s pressure and broke away from the Congress party to form the Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran).
Soon after this, Ms Padmaja kept a safe distance from Mr Muraleedharan and was not active in any sort of political activity even within the Congress.