Kerala issue did not figure in CWC meeting

New Delhi, Mar 11 (UNI) The issue of forging any understanding with the Democratic Indira Congress(DIC) led by former Kerala Chief Minister K Karunakaran did not figure in the Congress Working Committeee (CWC) meeting held here tonight, highly placed party sources said.

The sources said the issue could not be taken up for want of time, besides the absence of Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is the coordinator for the party's preparation for facing the April/May assembly polls in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, West Bengal and Assam.

There were reports that the issue would figure in the CWC meeting in the context of the ongoing discussions with the DIC by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a major partner of the ruling Congress-led coalition in Kerala.

The DIC floated by veteran Congress leader Karunakaran on May one last year, has been in a crisis since its rejection by the Marxist-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) to take it in the front.

The reports said the Congress in Kerala might accept a proposal to allot 15 seats to the DIC as part of an understanding, while the DIC has been demanding at least 20 seats in the elections to 140-member state assembly.

The Kerala unit of the Congress has constituted a four-member panel led by PCC Chief Ramesh Chennithala to hold discussions with the constituents of the UDF and also, if necessary, with the DIC.

UNI SH/SN PA HT2248