Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 03: Kerala Chief Minister A K Antony today stepped up attack on his detractor K Karunakaran using CPI(M)'s shoulders asking the Marxists which "Harischandra" they were planning to install in his place. Accusing the CPI(M) of playing a "diabolic game", he said it was trying to weaken the congress at a time when the party was locked in direct combat with the BJP in northern states.
In a sarcastic comment aimed at Karunakaran, Antony asked the CPI(M) "which Harischandra or Satyavan" they had in mind in place of a "corrupt Antony."
In a sharp retort, KPCC president and Karunakaran's son K Muraleedharan said the Chief Minister's outburst "betrayed his lack of trust in Congress MLAs and he is proving to be a failure as CLP leader" while leader of opposition V S Achuthanandan said Antony was trying to divert attention from the troubles plaguing his government by blaming it on the LDF.
Meanwhile, Congress president Sonia Gandhi spoke to Indian Union Muslim League supremo Panakkad Syed Muhammadali Shihab Thangal on phone and urged the key ally to continue its initiative to resolve the crisis in the ruling front.
Thangal, in turn, asked Gandhi to take steps to settle the problems in the Congress at the earliest.
Referring to yesterday's CPI-M polit buro statement indicting him for ushering in an era of communal and caste politics in the state, Antony said it had proved that the drama being enacted in Kerala was not scripted merely by the state CPI-M leaders but had the blessings of the party's central leadership.
Bureau Report