KM Mani, 83, one of the senior most politicians of Kerala. (File photo)
Kerala Congress(M) led by former Kerala finance minister KM Mani, which severed its ties with the Congress-led UDF last week, today said the party is strong enough to stand alone in state politics.
Stepping up his attack against Congress leaders, Mr Mani told a state committee meeting of the party here that "those who oppose us (in the Congress) joined hands with our enemies and hatched conspiracy to defame us...to humiliate us."
In an apparent bid to contain differences within KC-M, Mr Mani said the party's decision to withdraw its support to the Congress-led UDF coalition of which it was a part for more than three decades, was welcomed by all in the party.
"We are not going to join any political alliance. We will stand alone in state politics and prove our strength. We are strong enough to stand alone in the state politics," Mr Mani said and asked party leaders if they were scared of the decision.
He said the Kerala Congress made progress and proved that it could exist in state politics by standing alone in the 1965, 1967 and 1970 elections to the state Assembly.
Earlier, the party's mouthpiece 'prathichaya' launched a scathing attack against senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, alleging he tried to split the KC(M) soon after Mani quit as finance minister from UDF government following bar bribery allegations against him.
The fresh developments come a week after KC-M announced after a two-day meeting at Charalkunnu in Pathanamthita district that the party lawmakers would sit as a separate bloc in the state Assembly.
The party would be "equidistant" from Opposition UDF, ruling CPIM-led LDF and BJP-led NDA, Mr Mani had said. It has six lawmakers in the present assembly.
Relations between KC-M and Congress over the bar bribery scam sharpened recently after Congress leaders Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala attended the betrothal ceremony of the daughter of controversial hotelier Biju Ramesh with the son of Congress leader and former minister Adoor Prakash.
Mr Ramesh, working president of the Kerala State Bar Hotel Owners Association, had levelled bribery charges against Mani which finally led to his resignation in November last.
KC-M has maintained that a "conspiracy" was behind the scam.