Sunny Joseph warned Congress leaders against airing internal differences in public. The intervention seeks to contain rifts over the CMRL case and UDF leadership.
Kannur,Oct 19, 2026 19:28 IST
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Sunny Joseph on Monday warned Congress leaders against airing differences publicly, saying contentious statements would benefit neither them nor the party, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
The warning came amid criticism within the party over the alleged delay in registering an FIR against CPI(M) veteran Pinarayi Vijayan in the alleged CMRL bribery case and UDF convener Adoor Prakash's criticism of Chief Minister V D Satheesan.
Addressing a press conference in Kannur, Joseph said, "I strictly reminded everyone in the party to avoid making controversial remarks in public. Everyone is obligated to follow party discipline. I request the cooperation of all Congress leaders in the matter." He added that he would not respond publicly to such remarks.
Prakash had earlier accused Satheesan of taking major administrative and policy decisions without consulting him or the UDF's alliance partners. He recently repeated the allegations after submitting a written complaint to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and meeting AICC general secretary Deepa Dasmunsi and Rahul Gandhi to seek the central leadership's intervention.
His latest allegations prompted Health and Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan to say earlier in the day that when a person repeatedly made allegations against the chief minister, "someone was behind the curtain".
Joseph, who is also the Electricity Minister, later said differences among party leaders could and should be discussed within party forums. He said meetings of the Congress Political Affairs Committee, the KPCC and the District Congress Committees had recently been held, where all matters were discussed.
"After that, it is not correct for anyone to air their individual views in public. That is what I am saying. Such statements are not beneficial for the party," Joseph said, according to PTI.
He said the party would decide on further action if leaders continued to make controversial public statements, as such remarks would cause discomfort among party workers and supporters. Joseph also said he would speak directly to the leaders concerned.
The KPCC chief defended the government's handling of the case involving Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and her husband P A Mohamed Riyas. He said the government did not act in haste on the basis of a letter from the Enforcement Directorate seeking an FIR against Vijayan and his family members, and instead obtained legal advice.
Joseph said the government registered the FIR after the Kerala High Court directed it to do so and had acted in accordance with the law, PTI reported.
His defence of the government's position followed concerns raised by several Congress leaders, including Muvattupuzha MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan, over the decision to order a preliminary enquiry before registering the FIR. Kuzhalnadan's position was supported by Kannur MP K Sudhakaran and other party leaders, including Jinto John.
Joseph's remarks sought to reinforce party discipline amid public differences over the government's handling of the alleged bribery case and Prakash's criticism of the chief minister, while making clear that disagreements should be addressed within Congress forums.
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