New Delhi, July 05: Indications of disciplinary action against its two top leaders emerged on Sunday with the CPI(M) convening an urgent meeting of its Central Committee to discuss the action as well as its implication.The CPI(M) Polit Bureau, which met here for the past two days to find an end to “disunity” among Kerala leaders and organisational problems in the state unit, decided to forward “proposals” to the Central Committee meeting here next weekend.”The Polit Bureau discussed the organisational issues related to the party’s state unit. It decided to convene a meeting of the Central Committee on July 11 and 12 to consider Polit Bureau’s proposals regarding the party affairs in Kerala,” senior party leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters.
The extraordinary two-day meeting comes in the backdrop of intense factional fight in its Kerala unit where Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and party state Secretary Vijayan are on a war path.
Sources said the two-day meeting saw intense and heated discussions. Among the proposals is action against the Chief Minister whose statements the Central Committee said had helped the Congress during elections. Mr. Vijayan is also expected to face action.
There were arguments within the Polit Bureau over action against Vijayan, against whom prosecution is pending in SNC Lavalin graft case. At least three Polit Bureau members are understood to have opposed the view that Mr. Vijayan should be let off.
The urgent convening of the Central Committee meeting indicated that the “proposals” of the Polit Bureau are “harsh”, sources said.
“The urgent meeting means that the PB has some crucial proposals which needed a wider discussion,” a senior leader said.
The two-day meeting was attended by CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat, S. Ramachandran Pillai, Biman Bose, V.S. Achuthanandan and Pinarayi Vijayan among others. West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee did not attend the meeting.
This is second time in the past five years the Polit Bureau is meeting to exclusively discuss Kerala issues. The first such meeting was held on February 13, 2005 in Kolkata.
The Kolkata meeting had come prior to Malappuram state conference of the party when factionalism was at its peak. The Polit Bureau had then asked the factions led by Mr. Achuthanandan and Mr. Vijayan to bury the hatchet and work unitedly.
But two years later, both Mr. Achuthanandan and Mr. Vijayan were suspended from the Polit Bureau for taking their fight out in the public domain. Their suspension was later revoked.
—Agencies