Tuesday, July 11 2006 17:40 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kozhikode (Kerala): Putting an end to merger speculations, K. Muraleedharan, the son of veteran Kerala leader K. Karunakaran today (July 11,2006) said, "There was no question of going back to the Congress party."

The Democratic Indira Congress-Karunakaran (DIC-K) president said, "We have suffered badly because we decided to align with the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the assembly polls. The circumstances that led to our party joining the UDF then were unfortunate."

"We formed our party because we couldn't suffer the humiliation meted out to senior Congress leaders, so there is no question of going back," he said at a party meeting here.

He said that none with any self esteem could ever think of going back to the Congress.

Karunakaran had formed the DIC-K in May last year after walking out of the Congress and installed Muraleedharan as the party president.

Both father and son had worked alongside the Left Democratic Front during the local bodies polls and also the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha by-election last year. However, the Communist Party of India-Marxist refused to have any poll alliance with the DIC-K ahead of the April-May assembly polls, and Karunakaran joined forces with the UDF.

The party suffered a humiliating defeat with 17 of its 18 candidates, including Muraleedharan, losing badly in the polls.

Asked about a possible merger with the Congress, Karunakaran said that there was no question of such a thing happening. If the Congress wants, it could merge with his party, he said.

Muraleedharan denied that a merger plan was being worked out by offering a gubernatorial post to Karunakaran and by making him a secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).

"Do you know what the job of an AICC secretary is, it is nothing but of a clerk. If it was for that post, I could have got it a long time back," Muraleedharan said.