Chirayinkeezhu fracas: Ramya Haridas, district panchayat member Sajith Muttappalam jettisoned with warning

Remya Haridas | Photo credit: The Hindu

The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee has warned Chirayinkeezhu MLA Ramya Haridas and district panchayat member Sajith Muttappalam against any repeat of the public confrontation between the two leaders that resulted in an open brawl in Chirayinkeezhu a few weeks ago.

KPCC President Sunny Joseph asked the two leaders to cooperate and withdraw the cases filed against each other. KPCC also instructed Ms. Haridas not to appoint Palayam Pradeep, whose role in the controversy was one of the major points of contention between her and local Congress leaders in Chirayinkeezhu, to her staff.

KPCC took the decision based on an investigative report by senior Congress leader MM Hassan, who was asked by the party to look into the September 5 confrontation at the house of S. Sajad, a local Congress functionary.

The KPCC decided to settle the dispute by agreement and decided against disciplinary proceedings against Ms. Haridas and Mr. Sajith, ordering them to cooperate with the local party organization and refrain from making further public statements about the dispute.

The KPCC had earlier suspended Mr. Pradeep and Mr. Sajad from primary party membership in connection with the Chirayinkeezhu episode.

It was a dispute raised by local Congress leaders over Mr. Pradeep’s presence at a block panchayat committee meeting in Chirayinkeezhu that ended in a public brawl.

Ms. Haridas alleged that she was threatened and physically assaulted by local Congress leaders, including Mr. Sajith. On the other hand, Mr. Sajith and Mr. Sajad alleged that Ms. Haridas and her associates confronted them and escalated the issue. Both parties filed police complaints against each other.

The controversy took another dimension when Ms. Haridas sought to appoint Mr. Pradeep to her personal staff following the incident, drawing much criticism from within the party.

Meanwhile, the KPCC also appointed a new mediation committee comprising Palode Ravi, M Vincent, Neyyattinkar Sanal and KS Sabarinadhana to bring the two factions together and facilitate a settlement so that the local dispute does not escalate into an organizational crisis.

Published – 22 Sep 2026 20:08 IST