<p>Congress leader K Muraleedharan on Saturday took exception to his colleague K V Thomas' decision to attend the seminar being held as part of the CPI(M)'s 23rd Party Congress and said the left party's state leadership is the one that longs for the ruin of the grand-old party.</p>.<p>The MP said it was a collective decision that no Congress man should take part in the ongoing party congress of the CPI(M) and the MPs from the southern state had made a special request in this connection to party chief Sonia Gandhi. The senior leader also said it wouldn't be an issue if the convention was held in any other part of the country. The Kerala CPI(M) had a hidden agenda to create issues within the Congress by personally inviting some of its select leaders, he alleged.</p>.<p>Asked about the alliance between Congress and the Marxist party in other parts of the country, Muraleedharan said barring the party men from attending the CPI(M) conference does not mean that there should not be any such partnerships.</p>.<p>"This ongoing party congress is being hosted by the Kerala unit of the CPI (M). They are blind in its hatred towards the Congress and the one who is longing for its ruin. It is not appropriate for any Congressman to take part in their event," he told reporters. He also criticised Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, saying that he was acting like a dependant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi now-a-days and he was the only person who did not utter any word against the BJP in his welcome speech during the party congress. Vijayan was afraid that he might not get the Centre's approval for the Silver Line rail corridor project if he speaks against the BJP, the Congress leader further alleged.</p>.<p>However, he said he was not belittling the contributions of K V Thomas to the party so far but a decision of the party high command was equally applicable to everyone. Meanwhile, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury told reporters in Kannur that Thomas was invited to the conference as a Congress leader.</p>.<p>"The defence of secularism, of federalism, of democracy and protecting India's Constitution is of paramount importance. We want everybody who stands by the Constitution to come to its defence. We invited everybody and it is the Congress party's decision what for them to do," he said. Thomas on Friday received a rousing reception when he arrived at the international airport in Kannur to take part in the seminar on "Centre-State relations" defying the edict of the party high command.</p>.<p>The Congress leader had said he would take part in the seminar but would not quit the party and remain as a Congressman till his last breath. Besides Thomas, Pinarayi Vijayan and his Tamil Nadu counterpart M K Stalin are also participating in the seminar.</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos</strong></p>
<p>Congress leader K Muraleedharan on Saturday took exception to his colleague K V Thomas' decision to attend the seminar being held as part of the CPI(M)'s 23rd Party Congress and said the left party's state leadership is the one that longs for the ruin of the grand-old party.</p>.<p>The MP said it was a collective decision that no Congress man should take part in the ongoing party congress of the CPI(M) and the MPs from the southern state had made a special request in this connection to party chief Sonia Gandhi. The senior leader also said it wouldn't be an issue if the convention was held in any other part of the country. The Kerala CPI(M) had a hidden agenda to create issues within the Congress by personally inviting some of its select leaders, he alleged.</p>.<p>Asked about the alliance between Congress and the Marxist party in other parts of the country, Muraleedharan said barring the party men from attending the CPI(M) conference does not mean that there should not be any such partnerships.</p>.<p>"This ongoing party congress is being hosted by the Kerala unit of the CPI (M). They are blind in its hatred towards the Congress and the one who is longing for its ruin. It is not appropriate for any Congressman to take part in their event," he told reporters. He also criticised Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, saying that he was acting like a dependant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi now-a-days and he was the only person who did not utter any word against the BJP in his welcome speech during the party congress. Vijayan was afraid that he might not get the Centre's approval for the Silver Line rail corridor project if he speaks against the BJP, the Congress leader further alleged.</p>.<p>However, he said he was not belittling the contributions of K V Thomas to the party so far but a decision of the party high command was equally applicable to everyone. Meanwhile, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury told reporters in Kannur that Thomas was invited to the conference as a Congress leader.</p>.<p>"The defence of secularism, of federalism, of democracy and protecting India's Constitution is of paramount importance. We want everybody who stands by the Constitution to come to its defence. We invited everybody and it is the Congress party's decision what for them to do," he said. Thomas on Friday received a rousing reception when he arrived at the international airport in Kannur to take part in the seminar on "Centre-State relations" defying the edict of the party high command.</p>.<p>The Congress leader had said he would take part in the seminar but would not quit the party and remain as a Congressman till his last breath. Besides Thomas, Pinarayi Vijayan and his Tamil Nadu counterpart M K Stalin are also participating in the seminar.</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos</strong></p>