Thiruvananthapuram, Sept 6 : The rift between Congress leaders in Kerala has once again come to the fore on Saturday with senior MP and former state party chief K. Sudhakaran openly criticising Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan for joining Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at an Onam feast on the very day shocking visuals of police custodial assault on a Youth Congress leader surfaced.

The CCTV footage, obtained after a protracted legal battle through RTI, showed Thrissur Youth Congress leader Sujith being brutally assaulted in custody at Kunnamkulam two years ago.

The release of the visuals triggered widespread outrage across the state, with demands for stern action against the four police officers already facing a criminal case.

Sudhakaran took strong exception to Satheesan sharing the dais and meal with the Chief Minister while the Congress rank and file were reeling from the disturbing images.

'... I would not have gone. Our party takes this assault very seriously, and we will go to any extent to ensure justice for Sujith,' said Sudhakaran.

While Sudhakaran called the youth leader via video call to convey solidarity, on that day, Satheesan called on Sujith at his home the other day.

The images of both leaders smiling alongside the Chief Minister at the Onam event drew criticism from within Congress.

Some party members hailed Sudhakaran's stance as a mark of true leadership, indirectly targeting Satheesan.

Satheesan's supporters, however, argue that the CCTV footage emerged while the Onam programme was already underway, and maintain that Satheesan himself had strongly condemned the incident and even warned of strict action against the erring officers.

Factional feuds between Sudhakaran and Satheesan are not new.

Their strained relationship often spilled into the open when Sudhakaran was KPCC president.

This latest episode marks the first public flare-up since Sudhakaran's replacement as state party chief with Sunny Joseph took place recently.

/IANS