Karunakaran stands by rebels, Sonia lets them off

On what he meant by asking Sonia to be ‘‘generous’’, Karunakaran said: ‘‘She knows what I meant.’’ At the same time, to whether he would agree to whatever the high command decides, he said: ‘‘How can I agree to ‘whatever’ is decided?’’

The leaders were joined by the general secretary incharge of Kerala, Ambika Soni. A little later, they were joined by one of the winning candidates in the recent Rajya Sabha election, Thennala Balakrishna Pillai

Later, Karunakaran said: ‘‘I endorse the views expressed by the KPCC and the chief whip on why they voted for the rebel candidate.’’ ‘‘What has happened has happened. But do you think a problem can be solved with one single meeting,’’ he asked. On whether he was going to meet the party president tomorrow or later, he said: ‘‘It is not on my agenda. But I cannot say what will happen tomorrow.’’