Padmaja reason behind rift between Karunakaran and Sonia, says K V Thomas; Padmaja rejects claim

ERNAKULAM: Senior leader K V Thomas has sparked a controversy by claiming that the relationship between former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former Kerala Chief Minister K Karunakaran became strained over Padmaja Venugopal. He made this claim in his book 'Kumbalangiyil Ninnu Chenkottayilekku'. According to Thomas, the main reason for this rift was Sonia Gandhi's reluctance to give a seat to Padmaja in the 2001 assembly elections. The book states that Karunakaran became deeply upset after his daughter was denied a seat, and this later led to his public distancing from the Congress high command.

Thomas further claimed that during the preparation of the Congress candidate list in 2001, Karunakaran secretly added Padmaja’s name to the list without the knowledge of Sonia Gandhi. However, leaders from the rival group within the party reportedly discovered this and informed Sonia Gandhi. According to the book, Sonia Gandhi became angry with Karunakaran over the issue, following which Padmaja’s name was removed from the list. Thomas says this incident marked the beginning of the growing distance between Sonia Gandhi and Karunakaran. The book also claims that Sonia Gandhi was unhappy with K Muraleedharan becoming KPCC president, but she accepted it for the smooth functioning of the government. Thomas also mentioned that even after P V Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister, Karunakaran continued to address him casually as “PV,” which allegedly caused displeasure. The book also discusses the French spy case and the hawala controversy in detail.

Meanwhile, Padmaja Venugopal has come out strongly criticising the remarks made against her father in the book. She also said the claim that she was the reason for the fallout between Sonia Gandhi and Karunakaran was completely false.

“Such an incident never happened. Since these comments are coming from someone who was once considered very close to my father, many people may believe them,” she said.

Padmaja explained that Karunakaran had discussed the possibility of her contesting from Chalakudy after several people suggested it. However, when another group within the party opposed the move, she herself decided to withdraw.

“I stepped back without any fight or controversy. Nothing more happened,” she added.

Padmaja also rejected the claim that Karunakaran and Narasimha Rao became distant because of the way he addressed him.

“Do not think that you can write whatever you want about a person just because that person has passed away. Narasimha Rao was afraid that my father might emerge as a contender for the Prime Minister’s post, and that is why he was defeated in Thrissur,” she added.