Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader and former union minister KV Thomas has been officially expelled from the Congress party. KPCC chief K Sudhakaran made the announcement on Thursday.
The party took action against Thomas hours after the veteran shared the stage with CPI(M) leader and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi VIjayan in the LDF election convention at Thrikkakara. The senior AICC member, who had been at loggerheads with the party’s state leadership, has said on Wednesday that he would campaign for the ruling LDF candidate Jo Joseph in the upcoming by-poll in the Thrikkakara Assembly constituency.
However, he had reiterated that he would not quit the Congress. Addressing a press conference in Kochi, he had said,’I am always a Congressman… I will neither quit the Congress nor join any other party. I am taking part in the LDF’s poll campaign also as a Congressman’. Sudhakaran informed that the action was taken with the permission of AICC.
Thomas faced action from the party when he attended a CPM seminar last month. A disciplinary committee headed by AK Antony recommended the removal of Thomas from all party positions and admonished him for participating in a seminar organised by CPM as part of its Party Congress held in Kannur early April. Following this, AICC chief Sonia Gandhi expelled him from KPCC duties on April 27.
Thomas was a former union minister of state (Independent charge) for Food and Civil supplies in the Manmohan Singh government. He has been a member of the Lok Sabha for six terms and was an MLA for two terms. He was also Minister for Tourism in the A.K. Antony government in Kerala.
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