George has been making anti-Congress statements to the acute embarrassment of the party president despite a letter asking him to exercise restraint in his remarks against the Congress and detractors within the party.

The ‘last straw’ came when George accused Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan of having an unholy nexus with a Gujarat-based Malayali businessman, adding that the Home Minister had discussions with a BJP delegation led by the state agriculture minister which had come to the state to promote the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel statue campaign. Incidentally, a Television channel had aired the pictures of the HM having dinner with the Gujarat team, which included the businessman, too.

The KC(M) chief, who was already under tremendous pressure from Congress leaders angered by George’s intemperate outbursts against the party and its leaders, had no other option but to issue a press release disowning George’s statements. “It is improper to level personal allegations against leaders. I am unhappy with such statements from George which are against the policy and stance of the Kerala Congress(M),” said the strongly-worded press release.

George had compounded his offence by participating in a Gujarat Government-sponsored ‘Run for Unity’ campaign to support Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project, a statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

George tried to defend the indefensible by saying that he would attend any function, even if organized by the Naxalites, to promote Patel! But what raised the hackles of the Congress leaders was his action in waving a T-shirt printed with Modi’s image at the function. How can the chief whip of a government wedded to secularism attend a function organized by a communal party? That was the question posed by the Congress leaders. And George had no convincing explanation.

KC(M) chief Mani initially defended George’s action, but later retracted saying that George should have realized the motive behind the campaign organized by the BJP.

Mani has his own compulsions for his reluctance to offend George beyond a point. It is a known fact that Mani needs the support of George in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, especially in the Kottayam Lok Sabha constituency from where his son and MP, Jose K. Mani is set to seek re-election. George has pockets of influence in the constituency. And Mani cannot depend on the full support of the Congress for his son, given the strained relations between that party and the KC(M) in the wake of George’s frequent criticism against the Congress and its leaders.

Speculation is also rife that Mani is trying to build bridges of understanding with the BJP. Mani seems to calculate that the BJP votes could more than compensate the loss of Congress votes caused by the rift with his party. Hence his initial turning of a blind eye to George’s participation in the BJP campaign. True, later, yielding to Congress pressure, he frowned on George’s pro-BJ act, but that was only out of political compulsions.

Mani also thinks that with the polarization of Hindu votes in the wake of the Oommen Chandy Government’s unabashed minority appeasement policy, the KC(M) will attract a sizable slice of the Hindu votes in the Lok Sabha polls.

Of course, it is not the first time that the BJP and KC(M) have cosied up to each other. Years ago, when the BJP made a determined effort to cobble together a ‘third front’ in Kerala, the KC(M) was one of the parties the party tried to rope in.

But the moot point is: Can PC George be disciplined by the latest Mani move? If past record is anything to go by, such a denouement is highly unlikely. George has never been amenable to discipline. As the Government chief whip, it is George’s responsibility to ensure the smooth functioning of the Government and the United Democratic Front(UDF). But, ironically, it is the chief whip’s words and deeds that have been whipping up controversies, tarnishing the image of the UDF Government and damaging its credibility. (IPA Service)