Former MP PC Chacko resigns from Congress

Delhi: Former Congress MP and once the party's Delhi in-charge, PC Chacko has resigned from the party.

At a news conference in Delhi on Wednesday, he informed that he was resigning, being totally dissatisfied with the current state of affairs in the party. He said in his resignation letter sent to the interim party chief Sonia Gandhi that it had become difficult for him to continue in the party.

He felt the Congress has ceased to exist as a party in Kerala, and what existed were two factions of Congress-A and Congress-I and it was a co-ordinating body of the two that constituted what is known as Congress.

He added that the party in Kerala is divided between Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala and his action has been prompted by the two leaders.

He cited the absence of democratic process in selection of party candidates through the Pradesh selection committee, which did not report or debate the names of nominees.

Chacko lamented that though it was an honour to be a Congressman, Congress has ceased to exist in Kerala. The only course before him was to be part of oneor the other group and because he was incapable of that, he was resigning.

He also referred to VM Sudheeran who he said had performed well as KPCC president, but he was stifled and eked out of the party.

The Congress high command, according to Chacko, was protecting group activities, but the party lacked leadership at the national level. He clarified that although he was not party to the letter recently written by some senior leaders to the leadership, he considered the demands raised in the letter as legitimate.

Chacko was a member of the Lok Sabha and the state assembly several times and had served as minister and on parliamentary committees.