The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) on Sunday made N Sakthan the temporary president of the Thiruvananthapuram District Congress Committee (DCC). Palode Ravi on Saturday resigned as DCC president after a controversy over his leaked phone conversation. Sakthan, a former Speaker of the Kerala Assembly, is also a former KPCC vice-president.
Addressing the media on Sunday, Sakthan said Palode Ravi was not against the party. He urged news channels to wait for the full voice clip. "Ravi’s intentions would be clear once the complete conversation is available."
He further said that although Ravi did not make any grave error, he should never have used those words. "The media should publish the entire conversation of Palode Ravi. The public is eager to know the truth. He was penalised for a blunder he had not made," Sakthan said.
In the audio recording, Palode Ravi can be heard saying that the Congress party would become obsolete after the next local body election if the party kept working in the same way, and that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) would continue in power for the third term in succession. The leaked audio conversation was between Ravi and a local leader.
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KPCC Chief Sunny Joseph suspended Vamanapuram block general secretary A Jaleel, whose eight-minute phone talk with Ravi was leaked to the media, from the party's primary membership for indulging in "anti-organisational activities".
In the video, Ravi is also heard explaining that the Congress would fall into third place, behind the BJP. "In panchayat elections, Congress will fall to third. In Assembly elections as well, we will lose badly. Congress will finish third in about 60 constituencies. LDF will remain in power, and this will be Congress's downfall," Ravi said.
He also asserts that a majority who are presently aligning themselves with Congress will switch to the BJP or other parties. "Congress has workers in just 10 per cent of regions. There is no love and no honesty towards each other among employees," he is heard saying in the audio clip. The Congress president came under strong attack following the leak, particularly because the state is gearing up for the next local body polls. KPCC leadership demanded an explanation from Ravi in this regard. Party sources also said Ravi was called upon to step down by the AICC leadership on party directives.
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