Karunakaran makes feelings official as Congress still cold

The nonagenarian politician, whose son and NCP state president K Muraleedharan had openly asked him last week to remember the things he had been saying about the Congress and Sonia Gandhi after he broke away from the party two years ago—including publicly calling the Congress president a Madamma (colloquial Malayalam for a white woman)—however asserted that he must go back to the Congress to strengthen the party, and “Sonia Gandhi’s hands”.

“I had criticised the Congress, and I really shouldn’t have done that. I am prepared to climb atop the Himalayas and shout that it was a mistake. I say this because one should not stand on empty pride and not own up one’s mistakes, that is the lesson Mahatma Gandhi taught us. If the Congress weakens, India weakens,” Karunakaran went on, adding that the next time he addressed them would be at a Congress rally, after an aide read out a resolution claiming that Karunakaran and his men had held up true Congress traditions even when they were out of the party.

The Congress, incidentally, has yet to officially confirm it would take him back, but Sonia Gandhi had discussed the issue with KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala and Opposition leader Oommen Chandy last weekend. But Karunakaran said no one will stop him and his men from being re-admitted to the party, “unless everyone in the Congress leadership happens to be really stupid”.

An emotional Karunakaran, who at one point said no one closely studying Indian politics would want to remain away from the Congress, asked his followers at another point in his speech: “Other than the Congress, where else can we go?”

Even as son Muraleedharan remains busy disowning last week’s attack on some of Karunakaran’s senior followers by his NCP acolytes leading hired local goons into their meeting, Karunakaran said he was sure Muraleedharan too would follow him back into the Congress, “if not today, tomorrow”, and that he was pained his son was not going with him now.

Responding to that, Muraleedharan said Karunakaran would need to pain all his life if that was the case, and he would never go back.

Meanwhile in Kozhikode in north Kerala, senior NCP leader Cyriac John led some 60 district-level NCP leaders into the Congress at a function presided over by KPCC chief Ramesh Chennithala. Congress sources said more such events would be staged in different districts over the next few days.