Don`t indulge in factionalism: Antony to Congress Kerala unit

Defence Minister AK Antony asked his partymen in the state to behave as factionalism has reached dangerous levels.

Kozhikode: Defence Minister AK Antony on Sunday asked his partymen in the state to behave as factionalism has reached dangerous levels.

"Factionalism in the party has crossed limits. The need of the hour is to draw a line for this," Antony said at a party meeting here. "When I switch on TV channels I am surprised to see that gone are the days when during discussions one could see a leader from the opposition and another from the Congress. That has changed. Now two Congress leaders have divergent opinions on the same subject. This does not augur well for the party," said Antony. The Congress`s majority faction in the state is now led by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy while another is headed by state party chief Ramesh Chennithala. In the faction-ridden Congress in Kerala, seats, positions and even ministerial berths are divided on the basis of groups. For decades, Antony himself had a Congress faction named after him in Kerala, while another faction was named after K Karunakaran. IANS