Madani removes Siraj as PDP working chairman

In a letter sent from Bangalore jail, Madani informed the senior party leaders that Akbar Ali had been appointed as the new Working Chairman, sources said. Varkala Raj had been named as the new general secretary in place of Gafoor Puthuppady.

Action against Siraj and Puthuppady came in the wake of the duo engaging in a war of words, in the backdrop of civic polls in Kerala, about the position to be taken visa vis the Muslim League.

While Siraj favoured adjustments with the Indian Union Muslim League, a UDF partner, Puthuppady had openly opposed such a position. Puthuppady had complained that Siraj was trying to take the party to the UDF camp through the IUML route, when Madani was away from the scene.

For long a close associate of Madani, Siraj had been the main spokesman of the party during the dramatic events that preceded Madani's arrest two months ago.