The supporters of Ruby R. Manoharan, MLA from Nanguneri constituency, protested against some organisational appointments made by the party leadership at the block-level, during the meeting held in the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee’s headquarters, Sathyamurthy Bhavan, on Tuesday.
TNCC president K.S. Alagiri had called for a meeting of elected representatives to discuss the ways to strengthen the party and devise strategies in preparation for the Lok Sabha election in 2024.
However, sources in the party said that the dispute over appointments in the Tirunelveli district unit of the party was raised by the supporters of Mr. Manoharan. With a few hundred supporters of the Congress MLA being brought to Sathyamurthy Bhavan in buses, a mild scuffle ensued and a couple of Congress workers were attacked.
A senior leader said that bringing men in buses for an issue related to block-level appointments has affected the image of the party.
“Ever since Mr. Alagiri became the State President, we have avoided such incidents which used to happen often earlier. It is unfortunate that this incident has affected the party’s image. The MLA has to face disciplinary action,” said the leader.
Tamil Nadu Congress SC department president M.P. Ranjan Kumar sought to give a positive spin to the scuffle. “It shows that even block-level posts are being sought after in the party, which has not been in power in the State for close to 60 years,” he said.
