No differences in govt party Ker HM Chennithala

    Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 12 (PTI) Keralam Home Minister and senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday denied any differences within the government or his party-led UDF, saying both were moving forward unitedly.

    Responding to scribes' queries about reported differences among senior Congress leaders over various issues, Chennithala said there was no discord either within the Cabinet or the party. However, the ruling coalition had the will to resolve any possible differences.

    He was specifically asked about the reported differences between Chief Minister V D Satheesan and electricity minister and KPCC president Sunny Joseph over power purchase-related matters, as well as UDF convenor Adoor Prakash's public criticism of the delay in convening the front's meeting.

    "There are no differences of opinion in the Cabinet. Sunny Joseph, chief minister and I were together for several hours yesterday. There was no argument or disagreement. There are no such issues. You should not entertain any misconceptions," Chennithala said.

    He said occasional differences of opinion on certain matters were natural, but there was no lack of harmony within the government or the party.

    "Even if any differences arise, there is an atmosphere in Keralam to discuss and resolve them. The UDF has the will and strength to settle any such issues. People need not believe reports appearing outside. The party will move forward unitedly," he added.

    Chennithala's remarks come amid reports of differences within the Congress-led ruling United Democratic Front (UDF), particularly following Prakash's repeated expressions of displeasure over its functioning.

    On Tuesday, Prakash made a veiled criticism against Satheesan, saying questions about why the UDF meeting had not been convened should be directed to the front's chairman, a position held by the CM.

    The remarks came a month after Prakash had publicly alleged that he was being kept out of important decisions and had to learn about government policies and developments through the media.

    Describing it as "serious neglect" of the UDF convenor, he had said he would formally convey his strong dissatisfaction to the AICC.

    Prakash had also reacted to KPCC president Sunny Joseph's reported remark that he was learning about certain developments through the media, saying the question should be directed to Joseph and that the latter might have made the observation in his capacity as a minister.

"What is emerging now is proof of collective responsibility in the Cabinet," Prakash had said.

    Satheesan, meanwhile, on Wednesday declined to directly respond to Prakash's criticism, saying the date of the next UDF meeting would be announced later.

    He had also maintained that Prakash had not alleged any lack of collective responsibility in the Cabinet or unity within the party, adding that all senior Congress leaders were part of the government and decisions were taken collectively.

    AICC general secretary K C Venugopal had also sought to downplay the reported differences among Congress leaders on Wednesday, describing them as a "storm in a teacup".

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)