SJ(D) at loggerheads with Congress in Chittur

PALAKKAD: The rift between the Congress and Socialist Janata (Democratic)   in Chittur seems to have reached a flash point with the latter deciding to  press for a no-confidence motion in the UDF-ruled Chittur block panchayat. The president of Chittur block panchayat is Gopalaswamy, a senior Congress leader.  In the 14-member Chittur block panchayat, the SJ(D) and the Congress have    five members each and the CPM 4 members. The last Assembly elections had witnessed a great deal of bad blood between K Achuthan and K Krishnankutty,  the regional chieftains of Congress an SJ(D) respectively.  “The SJ(D) has brought in a no-confidence motion against the UDF with the  support of the CPM. It will be taken up for discussion on Wednesday. The  state secretary-general of the SJ(D) has been creating problems ever since he was denied the Chittur Assembly seat. At present, I am the president and Shantini of the SJ(D) the vice-president. We do not plan to hold any compromise talks with the SJ(D) for staying in power.“We will approach the  Election Commission against the SJ(D) and if there is no redressal for our grievance, we will approach the High Court,” Chittur block panchayat president Gopalaswamy said.Chittur MLA K Achuthan said that as per the agreement reached after the local body elections, the Congress would hold the post of the president of the Chittur block panchayat for the first two-and-a-half years and the SJ(D)  will bag the post in the remaining period. “The no-confidence motion is against the agreement worked out by the KPCC. We will approach the Election Commission and the High Court seeking  disqualification of the five SJ (D) members. According to the present rules,  all the SJ(D) members will lose their membership and posts secured thereon,” Achuthan  added. He said all the issues were created by K Krishnankutty who wanted to contest in Chittur. “Even in the SJ(D)-ruled Perumatty panchayat, it was me who gained lead against the LDF candidate. The SJ (D) activists had silently   backed the LDF candidate in the elections,” alleged Achuthan.