Be united or else perish, Antony tells Congress

IANS/Thiruvananthapuram

“Look, manifestos are all there and needed and that’s just one aspect, but the most vital ingredient is the party should be united and if not, get ready to perish,” Antony said at the party headquarters here.

He was speaking soon after receiving a copy of the manifesto prepared by a committee of the state Congress, to be included in the party’s national manifesto, which will be released ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

“If we stand united then we will not only gain, but can come up trumps. All of you should work by seeing the writing on the wall and create a conducive atmosphere for the party to reach out to the people. There can be differences of opinion. But what is needed is for the party and the government to work together. There is no point appearing for discussions on TV channels,” Antony said.

The former Kerala chief minister said it was nice to see all party leaders from various factions sitting in front of him with smiles on their faces, but the next time, this smile should also come from within.

Antony knows that the biggest enemy of his party here is factional feuds, as in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls the Congress failed to win a single seat of the 17 it contested in the state.

Human Resource Development Minister M M Pallam Raju, also present on the occasion, said the Congress was going through challenges in the aftermath of the recent assembly polls.

“We have to stand united and it’s the duty of every state unit to work for this to face the challenge,” Raju said.

State Congress president Ramesh Chennithala said the committee did a good job and make significant suggestions in the manifesto.

The highlights include 12 cooking cylinders a year at Rs500 each, 10 litres of monthly petrol at 25% subsidised rates for two-wheeler owners, rollback of decision to give free run to oil companies to fix oil prices, 20 essential commodities be provided at subsidised rates, a Rs500,000 interest-free loan be given to one member from every family to start a self-employment venture, education loan be made a right to all, admissions to kindergarten and primary schools should be free from capitation fees besides all degree students be given a lap top and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme should now cover 200 days a year and pay Rs300 daily.

Earlier, addressing the valedictory function of the 125 years’ celebration of the state legislature, Antony said the Kerala assembly was no longer a model for the country.

“There was a time when the functioning of the Kerala assembly was a model for the country, but it no longer holds good, as bills are being passed without discussion. This does not augur well for the new generation. Both the treasury and the opposition benches are equally responsible for this,” Antony, who has served as chief minister of the state three times, and has been a legislator in the house five times, said.

He was first elected to the Kerala assembly in 1970.

Last week, assembly Speaker G Karthikeyan said he felt sad that only 37 sittings were held in 2013, the least in the history of the house.

The last session was cut short in June, after the opposition made repeated disruptions over what is termed the “solar scam” in the state, alleging involvement of people in high office in the state.

In 1960, the Kerala assembly saw sittings for 94 days. Over the years, the number of sittings has fallen. Even on days when sittings were held, proceedings were hampered as uproarious scenes and heated arguments occurred between treasury and opposition benches.

The next session of the house is set to begin on January 3, with the customary address by Kerala Governor Nikhil Kumar.