By Ashraf Padanna/Thiruvananthapuram
Veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader V S Achuthanandan has fired a fresh salvo at his archival in the party, Pinarayi Vijayan, demanding his replacement as the state secretary of the Kerala unit.
Achuthanandan (left) and Vijayan: crisis deepens
In a letter to the party general secretary Prakash Karat and politburo member Sitaram Yechury, which was leaked to the media yesterday, the former chief minister threatened to resign as leader of the opposition in the state assembly if the party failed to revamp the state leadership.
He also demanded an immediate session of the central and state committees to discuss the brutal killing of the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) leader T P Chandrasekharan who was forced out of the CPM because of his close proximity to Achuthanandan.
The letter is seen as a severe blow to the CPM which is under the scanner over the RMP leader’s murder as the police appeared to be zeroing in on its local leaders. The party also faces a tough battle to win the Neyyattinkara seat in a by-election on June 2.
Achuthanandan, 89, said the morale of the party cadre in Kerala had been affected, especially after the RMP leader’s murder and wanted the central leadership to seriously consider recasting the state unit headed by Vijayan.
He said that despite being a senior leader in the party, nothing was discussed with him and he had been isolated by Vijayan.
One of the main reasons why an increasing number of party faithfuls were leaving the party was “the wrong policies” of the state leadership, Achuthanandan alleged, as it is deviating from the principled stand of Left ideology.
He said if the things in the party went on the same way, he would have no option but to step down as the leader of opposition in the assembly.
Achuthanandan last week attacked Vijayan saying he would soon meet the fate of Communist icon S A Dange who was shown the door by the party.
S Ramachandran Pillai, M A Baby and Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the three politburo members from Kerala besides Vijayan, said they were not aware of the letter while senior leader M M Lawrence said if the reports were true then it was a grave mistake on the part of Achuthanandan.
“If he had any difference of opinion, he should have raised it in the Central Committee, of which he is a member,” Lawrence said. “The public statements are in violation of party discipline.”
Vijayan, however, dismissed the development as a media creation to help the ruling coalition in the Neyyattinkara by-election. Karat had last week accused the media and the ruling front of spreading canards against his party.
Reacting to the issue, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said: “This letter explains the fact that the CPM state leadership instead of taking corrective steps against those who do wrong, is currently protecting those who do wrong.”
State Finance Minister K.M. Mani went a step further and asked Achuthanandan to come out of the CPM.
“What he has said about Vijayan is fully correct,” said Mani.
