Tuesday, March 22 2005 18:52 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy today (March 22, 2005) issued show cause notices to 13 Congress MLAs for attending the Karunakaran's faction rally at Kochi defying the high command directive.

Chandy in his capacity as CLP (Congress Legislative Party) leader wanted the MLAs to explain as to why they attended the "I' faction's zonal rally yesterday, defying the AICC (All India Congress Committee) and KPCC (Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee) ban.

They have been asked to furnish their reply within two days or it would be taken as that they did not have anything to say and proceed with further action, CLP sources said.

The notice has been issued under section 25 of Kerala Pradesh Congress legislature party rules, the sources said.

Their participation in the rally, organised by suspended former KPCC President, K Muraleedharan and against the directive of AICC and KPCC, was violative of the Congress constitution, the source said.

In the notice issued to P P George, Congress chief whip, the Chief Minister also asked him to explain why he should not be removed from the post for attending the rally.

Congress whip V D Sateeshan handed over the show cause to P P George while the notice to the others were delivered by messengers.

Former Minister P Sankaran, T V Chandramohan, Savithri Lakshman, Shobana George, Malaeth Sarladevi, M V Gangadharan, A D Musthafa, A A Chandrasekharan, E M Augustin, V Sugathan Radha Raghavan and N D Appachan were the MLAs who attended the Kochi rally.