KPCC chief Sudhakaran’s 'pro-RSS' remarks are just the latest of his gaffes

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K Sudhakaran’s repeated gaffes, purportedly “pro-RSS” in nature over the past few weeks, has put the Congress in an embarrassing situation, especially when it is struggling to find its feet in the state after staying out of power for more than six years.

On November 14, on the occasion of Children’s Day which also coincided with the 133th birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, Sudhakaran stepped on the land mine by stating that the former prime minister had compromised with ‘communal fascists’ by inducting Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder and RSS leader Shyama Prasad Mukherjee in his cabinet, for democracy’s sake.

The moment he spelt out these words, a retraction with apology was on the cards, which took only 24 hours to be materialised.

Also read: KPCC chief rubbishes reports of resigning, writing to Rahul Gandhi

The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) did not spare time to condemn the statements of the KPCC president. IUML leader and former minister MK Muneer made it clear that the state congress chief’s stance was unacceptable. Isolated within the party, Sudhakaran withdrew his words within no time, and said it was just a slip of tongue.

Barrage of criticism

Merely a week ago, Sudhakaran ignited a raging controversy by claiming that the Congress had protected RSS offices or ‘shakhas’ in Kannur when they were allegedly under attack from the CPI(M). Ironically, the period he described was that when the infamous Thalassery riots broke out and during when mosques were under attack by the RSS. The CPI(M) reportedly protected these mosques from RSS cadres.

The statement did not go down well with IUML leaders.

“Congress as a party has to take the responsibility to ensure that he (Sudhakaran) would not repeat such statements any more. Initially we tried to handle the situation within the United Democratic Front (UDF) without taking it public, but we had to say this when he repeated the same,” P M A Salam, IUML’s general secretary told The Federal.

He refused to comment if the Congress should think about a change in leadership by stating that it was solely a call of the party. “Whether to change the KPCC president or not is their decision, we would not comment on that,” he said.  “However, the league does not want to make any public statements in support of Sudhakaran for the reason that he had apologised,” he added.

The CPI(M) too did not wait to pounce on the opportunity to dub Sudhakaran as a “Hindutva agent”. “We are least surprised,” said M V Govindan, the state secretary of the CPI(M). “Sudhakaran has always colluded with the RSS, especially in Kannur. The RSS always had been keen on attacking our cadre in Kannur and Sudhakaran was hand in glove with them. Now he has admitted it in open,” Govindan said.

Sudhakaran who has retracted his statement, however, has refuted media reports that claimed that he wrote a letter of apology to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, offering to quit as the state congress chief.

“The letter the media claims I have written is an imaginary one. I would not have addressed Rahul Gandhi, but Mallikarjun Kharge, if I were to write one,” he said.

He alleged that some of the media outlets have an ulterior motive to circulate such a “fake letter”.

‘Pinarayi-baiter’

Sudhakaran is no stranger to controversies as far as his hostility towards the left, the especially the CPI(M) is concerned. Now, his repeatedly statements in favour of the RSS and the BJP – considered the enemy of the enemy – have raised speculations on any possible jump to the saffron party. It is to be noted that Sudhakaran once said that he would not hesitate to join the BJP if he wished so. Even though he later clarified that his statement was a hypothetical one and would never materialise, his opponents have kept a close watch on him and called him out every time he went soft on the BJP.

When Sudhakaran took over as the KPCC chief in May 2021, many of the rank and files of the party sincerely believed it was a paradigm shift. So was the hype created by his loyalists inside the Congress. He was dubbed as the man who had dared to physically challenge Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the past and is still capable to do it politically.

Also read: The boy in the drum: K Sudhakaran vs Pinarayi Vijayan

In his very first media interview after assuming charge of the party, he created a furore by claiming that he had roughed up Vijayan during their campus days in the ‘60s.  The controversy hit the headlines for some days after the chief minister alleged that Sudhakaran had even plotted to kidnap his children. The slugfest between the two leaders from the northern district of Kannur which is known for political violence, however helped in boosting Sudhakaran’s image as a well-matched rival of Vijayan.

Notorious for gender, caste shaming

Even before assuming the KPCC president’s post, many of his remarks targeting CPI(M) leaders from Kannur had become controversial. In February 2021, he claimed that Vijayan is the first chief minister who toured the state in a chopper. His below the belt remarks on Vijayan, calling him a “toddy tapper’s son” who flies in a chopper did not go well, even with some of his colleagues including former KPCC presidents V M Sudheeran, M M Hassan and Mahila congress leader Shanimol Usman who all openly disagreed him.

During the last Lok Sabha elections, he had targeted PK Sreemathi of CPI(M) for her gender, dubbing her as a weak woman candidate. His style of caste/gender shaming political opponents has often put the party on a sticky wicket, especially on social media platforms where people and trolls are unsparing in their criticism.

During the campaign for the by-election to the Thrikkakkara constituency, Sudhakaran created yet another furore by saying that the chief minister was roaming around like a stray dog, a statement which was denounced by leaders cutting across party lines.

It is a known fact that Vijayan and Sudhakaran do not see eye to eye, and analysts say this has prompted the latter to go soft on the BJP and RSS especially in their native district. Sudhakaran is known for his “an eye-for-an-eye” stance against the CPI(M), the major political player in Kannur district. This dare delivery had given him a huge fan following among the Youth Congress which in turn helped him claim the post of party’s state president.

Also read: Can a belligerent Sudhakaran revive Cong in Kerala? Knives are already out

Sudhakaran’s latest controversial remarks have also fuelled the internal feud in the party, which was dormant for some time now. K Muralidharan, MP has criticised the KPPCC president saying that a mere regret statement would not suffice whereas Ramesh Chennithala, the former opposition leader has taken the side of the KPCC president reiterating his secular credentials.