Leaving UDF won’t make Mani 'canonized': Kanam Rajendran

Thrissur: CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran on Tuesday said Kerala Congress (M) chairman K M Mani cannot get away with the bribery accusations just because he left the UDF alliance.

“Leaving the UDF won’t make K MMani canonized. He is a tainted person. The people know that,” Kanam told reporters here.

Asked about the prospects of KC(M) joining the LDF, Kanam said the policies of K M Mani were dissimilar to that of the LDF. “LDF is an alliance that functions based on certain policies. Mani’s ideologies are different from ours. Let them stand alone and prove their capability,” he said.

Giving a jolt to the Congress, KC-M Sunday announced its decision to snap over three-decade old ties with UDF citing "humiliation" meted out by Congress. 

The party, which was the third largest partner in the UDF after Congress and IUML, also decided to function as a separate bloc in the state assembly. 

After announcing the decision, Mani told reporters that his party would be "equidistant" from Opposition UDF, ruling CPI-M-led LDF and BJP-led NDA.

Meanwhile, BJP started sending positive vibes to the KC(M), saying the saffron party has no "untouchability" towards the Mani-led party, which is wielding considerable clout among Syrian Catholic community in central Kerala.

BJP state President Kummanam Rajasekharan, addressing a party programme in Kochi, said his party has "no untouchability" towards the KC(M) and pointed to BJP's "warm" relations with Kerala Congress faction headed by former union minister P C Thomas -- son of legendary leader P T Chacko.