The Kerala unit of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is in trouble as NCP Ajit Pawar group has demanded the resignation of State Forest Minister A K Saseendran and party legislator Thomas K Thomas if they continue to be with the Sharad Pawar group.
NCP (Ajith Pawar group) working president Praful Patel issued an ultimatum to the NCP legislators, AK Saseendran and Thomas K Thomas, to either resign or switch allegiance to Ajit Pawar’s faction.
Advertisement
While the initial deadline was May 31, Praful Patel, in a recent letter, warned both of them that if they continued with Sharad Pawar, they would be disqualified from the position of MLA in Kerala.
Advertisement
Forest Minister AK Saseendran said that they have not taken the letter seriously and that they have decided to ignore it. “Praful Patel sent the letter in the name of the working president. However, there is no such position as per the party constitution,” he said.
Thomas, who is the state president, also ignored the letter. “Tell me which party Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule belong to. They (Ajit Pawar and Patel) all contested on the same symbol. We are with Pawarji.
“The Kerala Assembly Speaker will decide our status. We’ve already informed the Supreme Court that we are with Pawar. No institution is above the apex court. Also, the NCP is a state party now, not a national one,” he added.
It is learnt that Praful Patel forwarded the letter on July 4. However, it became public only on Tuesday. The letter stated that K Thomas has been suspended from the party for six years and directed him to resign from his position as MLA within a week or face disqualification under the provisions of the People’s Representation Act and the Anti-Defection Law.
It is learnt that the NCP working president also sent a similar letter to Minister Saseendran.
Advertisement
