UDF leader makes claim against Congress RS nominee, backtracks

Thiruvananthapuram, March 20 Creating a row in Kerala's opposition UDF, constituent RSP's chief on Sunday said that the Congress's Rajya Sabha nominee, Jeby Mather, was fielded "through a payment process", but later backtracked.

RSP state Secretary, A.A. Azeez, made the claim while delivering the inaugural address at a meeting of his party's student wing.

His statement was not taken lightly by the Congress, with its Kasargod MP, Rajmohan Unnithan lashing out against him and claiming that he was planning to cross over to the ruling Left Democratic Front. He said that stringent action must be taken against Azeez and the party should legally move against him.

Meanwhile, Azeez, interacting with reporters here, said that his statement was misinterpreted and that he had not said that Mather's nomination was a "payment seat".

Congress allocated the seat to Mather, currently the state Woman Congress President, and hailing from a political family having deep roots in the state Congress. Her grandfather, T.O. Bava was the state party chief, her father K.M.A. Mather was a state General Secretary of the party and her brother Shafi Mather was the OSD to Oommen Chandy when he was Chief Minister.

There were criticisms from within the Congress also that Mather was given the RS seat as Congress General Secretary, Organisation, K.C. Venugopal had taken special interest in accommodating her.

Mather is the first woman nominated by the Congress to the Rajya Sabha from the state after over four decades since Leela Damodara Menon.

Of the upcoming three vacancies to the Rajya Sabha from the state, the ruling LDF can win two seats while the opposition UDF can win one.

In the LDF, the seats were taken by the CPI-M and the CPI, with the former nominating its youth wing's national President A.A. Raheeem while the latter fielded its former youth wing chief, P. Santhoshkumar who is presently its Kannur District Secretary.