Thiruvananthapuram: With V.M. Sudheeran stepping down as the President of the Congress party in Kerala on health grounds, the party faces tough times in selecting a new leader to the post. Sudheeran resigned on Friday.
Sudheeran's resignation comes at a time when the Congress is literally on a weak ground after the results of five state assembly polls came in on Saturday.
While Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, who is now the final word in the party, took a severe beating in Uttar Pradesh polls where he led the party campaign, the Congress victory in Punjab has now gone fully to Captain Amarinder Singh who single-handedly led the grand old party to a tumultuous victory.
"In politics, being realistic in decision making process is very crucial and gone are the times when the national leadership could thrust their decisions on state units. Today, one can't decide things sitting in Delhi as the ground reality is totally different," said a Congress leader on the condition of anonymity.
"The national leadership has literally failed to gauge what the situation is in Kerala, had they done proper homework, Sudheeran would not have become the President in 2014. Many in the party wish it does not repeat the mistake this time, when the new President would be selected," the leader said.
The state Congress party was controlled by K. Karunakaran and A. K. Antony for over three decades till the early 2000s, but things changed with the passing away of Karunakaran.
After Antony moved to Delhi in 2005, he was the last word that the national leadership banked on to make crucial decisions.
Selection of Sudheeran, naming of candidates to the May 2016 assembly polls and the revamp of the 14 district party chiefs was decided in Delhi.
Though seasoned politicians like veteran Oommen Chandy never uttered a word against the national leadership, they were clearly totally unhappy with it.
Ever since the shock defeat in 2016, Chandy has remained reclusive and treaded his own path. Chandy has already made his stand clear that he would not run for the post of the state President to succeed Sudheeran.
"The biggest drawback in the party today is that, even though there are capable leaders, there is not a single leader who has the stature and who enjoys the respectability of all Congressmen," another leader said.
"This was not the situation when Karunakaran, Antony, Chandy and to a certain extend Ramesh Chennithala led the party from the front. There is definitely a vacuum and how best and how fast the national leadership decides is going to be keenly watched," the leader said.
By now quite a few names have propped up, including those of P.T. Thomas, K. Muraleedharan, K. Sudhakaran and Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan.
"I have always been a loyal soldier of the party and have always abided by the party decisions. To become the state party President is anyone's ultimate," said Thomas, a sitting legislator who as the sitting Lok Sabha member from Idukki constituency then did not get to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
"In two days' time the national leadership of the party will decide on the new state President," said Sudhakaran.
"The new President would be selected after looking into various issues," remarked Radhakrishnan.
But Muraleedharan -- son of Karunakaran and a former state President -- ruled himself out from the post.
"I wish to concentrate on parliamentary politics and hence I am not interested," said Muraleedharan.
Whosoever gets the nod will find the going tough as the party has to revive itself from the grassroots, which is not an easy task as the Congress is in power neither in the state nor at the Centre.
London: The Brexit Secretary has warned members of Parliament to leave the bill for exiting the European Union unchanged when it is debated again in the House of Commons on Monday.
David Davis issued a last-minute warning to Tory rebels not to sabotage the Article 50 Bill amid fears that any change could see Brexit end up in the courts, reported The Telegraph on Sunday.
Davis said that putting promises over leaving the EU into law creates a "greater risk of legal action".
Davis warned that Prime Minister Theresa May would be negotiating with "one hand tied behind her back" if MPs approve two changes to the law proposed by Lords.
He also said that protecting the rights of EU citizens in Britain without reciprocal promises would plunge more than a million Britons abroad into "uncertainty".
"There will be many opportunities for Parliament to debate the ins and outs of our negotiation of a new partnership with the EU, and influence the outcome," Davis said.
"But attaching conditions to a bill that simply allows the Prime Minister to start the process of implementing the referendum result is emphatically not the way to do it."
The shot across the bows comes ahead of a historic week in the Parliament that is expected to see Britain's withdrawal from the EU approved by MPs and peers, reported the newspaper.
May is preparing to formally start negotiations as early as Tuesday in a landmark moment in Britain's modern history, dubbed "independence day" by supporters.
However, before that can begin, MPs must vote on Monday on whether to make two amendments to the legislation giving the Prime Minister the power to start Brexit.
The first would demand proposals are published within three months to protect the rights of all EU citizens currently in Britain.
The second would give MPs and peers a "meaningful vote" on the final Brexit deal -- effectively a veto, as Britain's departure could not happen without a parliamentary vote.
Both are being opposed by the government, but pro-EU Tories are rallying support privately behind both changes. Only about 30 Tory MPs are needed to back the changes for them to pass, given opposition parties support them and the Conservatives have such a slim majority, said the report.
May has indicated theParliament will get a say, but has said she would rather "walk away" from the EU than accept a "bad deal", and would not return to negotiations if MPs and peers reject the Brexit package.
The bill could complete its final stages on Monday if the Lords accepts the decisions made by MPs.
