The Youth Congress in Kerala today demanded expulsion of former state minister T H Mustafa for calling Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi as a "joker."
Raising the issue at the KPCC executive meeting held here to review the party's performance in the state, state Youth Congress President Dean Kuriakose asked the leadership to expel Mustafa for making adverse comments against Rahul.
Mustafa, who was a minister in the K Karunakaran ministry in the early 1990, had alleged in Kochi yesterday that Rahul depended on a coterie close to him during the campaign and said "acting like a joker" would not help in elections.
Though a KPCC executive member, Mustafa, known for his penchant at fulminating at leaders in the state, did not turn up at the meeting today, sources said.
According to sources, Kuriakose, who lost the election in Idukki, said the Congress's defeat was not due to the style of Rahul's functioning but mainly on account of the "Hindutva" plank of the BJP.
Kurikose, who had earlier demanded a party probe into his defeat in Idukki, said it was extremely improper to isolate and attack Rahul for the debacle.
"KPCC should take stern action against those who are singling out leaders like Rahul Gandhi for attack", Kuriakose told the meeting.
Meanwhile, some of those who spoke at the executive made critical comments against the central leadership, without naming Rahul or any other top leaders, party sources said.
However, most senior leaders held that it would be inappropriate to put the entire blame on any particular leader.
