Thiruvananthapuram: Health minister K Muraleedharan has taken a swipe at UDF convener Adoor Prakash over his continued criticism of chief minister V D Satheesan, saying that repeated attacks on the chief minister suggested that someone was behind them.“If someone is constantly criticising the chief minister, it means there is someone behind it. I am not saying who that person is now,” Muraleedharan said.Meanwhile, the rift within the Congress over the state govt’s handling of the CMRL-Exalogic case continues to widen, with the Satheesan camp intensifying allegations that the public criticism by Prakash and Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan is part of a planned move.Prakash has alleged that the CM does not consult party leaders on key decisions taken by govt. He reiterated his criticism even after submitting a complaint to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.Prakash, in an interview given to a television channel, has alleged that attempts were being made to push him out of the party for raising criticism. He said that there has been an attempt in the party to remove him from the post in the way K Sudhakaran was removed from the KPCC president post. He also alleged that there is a hate campaign against him on social media handles.The controversy has intensified over decisions on cabinet-level positions. On the day AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said in New Delhi that opinions on such appointments would be expressed within the party, Prakash publicly criticised the chief minister. The Satheesan camp has since stepped up its campaign against the UDF convener.Those supporting Satheesan also suspect that Kuzhalnadan, who has criticised the govt’s position in the CMRL case both publicly and within the party, is not acting alone. It has alleged that there are specific motives behind attempts to invoke public sentiment surrounding former chief minister Oommen Chandy.
