THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Outgoing Congress state president Mullappally Ramachandran, 76, has said he is leaving the office as a contented man. He did not blame any factional leader for not allowing him to execute certain party decisions, perhaps knowing that they did it due to loyalty to their groups. Mullappally also gave his successor K Sudhakaran, who called on him at the party’s headquarters, Indira Bhavan, “suggestions” on how to revive the party.
Mullappally, who became the party state president in September 2018, had put forth a demand before the Congress high command then that he should get wholehearted support of all factions. Despite getting an assurance, he never got a free rein. However, he remained firm on bringing in fresh faces. One such instance was launching ‘My booth, My pride’ programme, which saw 25,000 booth committees being formed on a single day. It also saw an equal number of women getting appointed as vice-presidents of the committees.
“But there were no party workers at the ground level who could perform their duties diligently. (Despite all these) I am a contented man. Even this morning, Congress president in charge Sonia Gandhi called me, urging me to lend all support to Sudhakaran, which I will do,” Mullappally said.
Meanwhile,besides meeting Mullappally, Sudhakaran called on former party state chief Thennala Balakrishna Pillai and also former Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and sought the latter’s support. He will be taking a call on when to take charge after meeting senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. He leave for Kannur after assuming the post.
MULLAPPALLY GIVES G1LAKH EACH TO TWO TRANSGENDERS
T’Puram: Outgoing Congress state chief Mullappally Ramachandran said he felt happy after handing over cheques for J1 lakh each to Arunima Zulfikar and Pallavi, members of the Kerala Pradesh Transgender Congress (KPTC), which was formed on his initiative. The two members of the transgender community have been in dire straits after undergoing sex reassignment surgeries.
On Tuesday, Arunima, 21, came all the way from Alappuzha in an autorickshaw to meet Mullappally. With no money to meet her day-to-day expenses after undergoing two crucial surgeries, she decided to seek Mullappally’s support. “Both Arunima and Pallavi have been facing a plethora of health issues. On Tuesday, I handed over the party’s donation of Rs 1 lakh each to them,” Mullappally told TNIE.