Francis George forms new party

Kochi: Prominent state leader Francis George Wednesday announced formation of a new party 'Janadhipathya Kerala Congress', nearly a week after he walked out of the Kerala Congress (M).

He announced the formation of the party at a convention, which was attended by former legislators Antony Raju and K C Joseph, among others.

Francis George, son of K M George who founded Kerala Congress in 1964, was elected as the chairman of the Janadhipathya Kerala Congress at its first steering committee meeting presided over by Joseph.

A state convention of the party will be held at Kottayam on March 16 in which the structure of the party is expected to be evolved.

Addressing the party formation convention attended by leaders and hundreds of workers, who left the Kerala Congress (M) along with him, Francis George hit out at K M Mani alleging that the former Finance Minister held parleys with leaders of BJP for striking secret tie-up with the saffron party for power.

"How can we agree with a leadership which held secret meetings with the BJP central leaders by violating all declared democratic principles of the Kerala Congress? No Kerala Congress worker can agree with such a move. Such things are happening at a time when minorities and Dalits are targeted across the country at the behest of ruling dispensation," he said.

The former Lok Sabha member said the first and foremost aim of his party is to fight for the rights of farmers, who face serious financial crisis due to "anti-farmer" policies of the NDA government at the Centre and Congress-led UDF government in the state.

Earlier, addressing a programme organised by the Press Club Ernakulam, Francis George said that the Mani-headed Kerala Congress(M) was a "dried up well".

"Kerala Congress (M) is a dried up well....It will become empty very soon," he said.

Responding to Mani group's charge that leaders and workers of Francis George-led party would end up on the streets, he said "time will prove who would be dumped on the wayside".

"If the people of the state think in favour of us, we will not end up on the streets," he said.