Thiruvananthapuram, July 10: High tension has once again mounted in the state CPI(M) as the two-day central committee has begun in Delhi on Friday to decide the fate of two party veterans; Chief Minister V S Achuthananadan and Pinarayi Vjayan, state secretary.
The 87 member-CC is meeting in Delhi to exclusively decide on the proposals made by the Politburo last week to end the intense antagonism between the two PB members. The 15 member- PB held on July 4 and 5th, especially to discuss and decide, had failed to arrive at unanimous conclusion. This forced the party supreme body to uncharacteristically send the ball to the Central committee for final ratification of its proposals.
Though the PB last week has held the 86-year-old chief minister more guilty in the factional war, members were divided over the action to be initiated. The PB has said that many statements made by VS during the election time caused much embarrassment to the party. However, though General Secretary Prakash Karat and some others were for taking action against chief minister alone, some members wanted steps against Vijayan too to be “fair to both factions”. Members like Sitaram Yechuri, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and Brinda Karat have reportedly said in the PB that action should be taken against Vijayan too as he was made an accused by CBI in the Lavalin scam case. Though the party has repeatedly held that the case against Vijayan was politically motivated and orchestrated by Congress in collusion with CBI, some members in PB felt that acting against VS alone would send a signal that party was condoning corruption.
For most of VS’s alleged violations of party discipline were intended to book Vijayan in this case. Though the party could say the case was politically motivated, some members felt Vijayan should be asked to step down as state secretary until his hands are proved clean in the court since he was an accused in the corruption case. It is believed that action against VS would also raise a public outcry as he has an image of a passionate campaigner against corruption.
The party central leadership is in an extremely difficult position to decide over the factional war in Kerala, for both Pinarayi and VS enjoy immense clout in two different ways. While Vijayan commands near total support in the state party, VS continues to be the most popular leader among the public. The issue has further worsened the ruling LDF’s plight for never before has its image been at its lowest ebb as proved by its drubbing in the last Lok Sabha polls. With local body elections nearing and the assembly polls falling in 2010, the three year-old LDF government and the CPI(M) could not have bargained for a more perilous state of affairs.
–Agencies