Several leaders of the Youth Congress in Kerala have publicly objected to the party’s plan to nominate senior leader PJ Kurien for re-election to the Rajya Sabha later this month. The Congress must not treat the Rajya Sabha as an “old-age home”, one MLA wrote on Facebook, while another said such leaders are a curse for the party.

Four MLAs have urged the party to give the opportunity to younger leaders.

The 77-year-old PJ Kurien will complete his second straight term in the Rajya Sabha on July 1. He has also been a member of the Lok Sabha six times.

“It is not good for democracy, especially for the Congress, that certain people hold parliamentary positions as their monopoly,” wrote Thrithala MLA VT Balram. A total reshuffle in the party leadership in the state is the need of the hour, he said.

Balram sought a fresh face for the election for the Rajya Sabha seat, and called for Kurien to use this opportunity to retire from parliamentary politics. “His long years of service as Union minister and Rajya Sabha deputy chairman will be remembered for ever,” Balram wrote in his post.

Palakkad MLA, Shafi Parambil, also called for young leaders to be given the chance.

The party needs a strong voice to fight against fascism in this battleground, Ernakulam MLA Hibi Eden said. He wrote that the Rajya Sabha was not an old-age home for leaders.

Senior leaders like Kurien should remember party chief Rahul Gandhi’s statement that party platforms are kept vacant for the youth, Angamaly MLA Roji M John wrote on Facebook. They should be ready to move out of the fray to give opportunities to deserving people, he said, adding that leaders who insist on remaining members of the Parliament or state Assemblies are a curse for the party.