Congress to consider Karunakaran issue tomorrow

Kochi, Mar 5 (UNI) Stating that the Congress will consider the views expressed by UDF partners on the issue of aligning with estranged party leader K Karunakaran, Kerala Pradesh Congress President Ramesh Chennithala today said the party will not ''bulldoze'' its allies.

Senior leaders of the UDF partners, in their meetings with Congress President Sonia Gandhi last night, had spoken in favour of some kind of electoral tie-up with Mr Karunakaran's DIC (K) in the next month's assembly elections. However, they had left the final decision in the matter to the Congress.

Addressing a press conference here this evening, Mr Chennithala said the Congress did not have the ''Big Brother'' attitude.It treated its allies on an equal footing.

''We will not bulldoze them with our views,'' he added.

However, asked to categorically state the Congress stand on the Karunakaran issue, Mr Chennithala said it would be declared only after the General Body and plenary meetings of the KPCC over the next two days.

The KPCC general body is due to meet tomorrow to consider six major resolutions, including one on political affairs, in which the DIC(K) issue is expected to figure.

These resolutions would be placed before the plenary session on Tuesday for amendment and ratification and the Congress would make its stand known ''unambiguously and in concrete terms'' after that, Mr Chennithala added.

Earlier today, party President Sonia Gandhi reportedly said at an informal interaction with the editors of some major Malayalam dailies and television channels that it was for the state unit to take a decision on the Karunakaran issue.

The central leadership would consider the matter only after the state unit makes its suggestions, AICC sources said.

According to these sources, the ''cold arithmetic'' of electoral politics indicated that the DIC (K) may cut into Congress votes if no electoral tie-up is forged between the two.

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