CPM ejects VS from politburo; lets off Vijayan

NEW DELHI: CPM
on Sunday formally lost its moral high ground on corruption as it humiliated Kerala chief minister V S Achuthanandan,one of its tallest leaders and also a founder of the party
, by removing him from the politburo while state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, an accused in the SNC-Lavlin case and the first politburo member ever to face corruption charges, was left untouched

Though politburo member Brinda Karat claimed the decision to remove Achuthanandan was unanimous, many central committee members disputed it. A large section of politburo was in favour of action against Vijayan also. But party general secretary Prakash Karat, supported by others in the central committee, held that corruption charge against Vijayan was politically motivated whereas Achuthanandan's utterings against corruption was "violation of organisational principle and discipline".

The report prepared by the politburo on Lavlin case had made the party line clear. It said SNC-Lavlin case was approved by the state committee.

Achuthanandan is not the first senior CPM leader to face disciplinary action. In the past, doyens like Nripen Chakrabarty in Tripura, M V Raghavan, K R Gowri and K P R Gopalan in Kerala were thrown out of the party.

The focus now shifts to Kerala where state committee and secretariat will be meeting from Tuesday. Karat will attend the meeting.

Vijayan's influence is so strong that the party parroted its oft-repeated defence of the man by stating that he was "not involved in any corrupt practice whatsoever" and promised to fight the case "politically and legally".

In the past, especially during NDA rule, CPM used Comptroller and Auditor General reports to allege corruption in disinvestment of Modern Foods and Balco. But now, the party interprets CAG report on SNC-Lavlin deal as no indictment of Vijayan. Suneet Chopra, a central committee member, had an interesting take, "CAG report does not indict Vijayan. He is a great leader. In three months, you will realise what a great decision the party has taken." He could not explain the suspense of three months.

Despite the humiliation, Achuthanandan refused to back down from his stand on corruption. While accepting the party's decision to remove him from the politburo, he made it clear that there was been no change in his stand on SNC-Lavlin case.

Achuthanandan could not attend Sunday's central committee meeting due to high blood pressure. After the meeting, Vijayan and state home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan went to see him in Kerala House but the meeting barely lasted a few seconds. "He is angry and upset," a close aide said. Interestingly, Achuthanandan was a one-time mentor of Vijayan.

Sharp moral decline in the party can be gauged from the fact that Chopra was equating Vijayan with Bhagat Singh apart from comparing Lavlin case with Singh throwing a bomb in Central Assembly against Defence of India Act. When pointed out that unlike Vijayan, Singh was not charged for corruption, Chopra still held his ground, claiming a grand conspiracy against communists.

Central committee members from Kerala and many other states said CPM's decimation in the 2011 assembly election in Kerala was almost certain. A major cause of its dismal performance in the Lok Sabha election was widespread perception that the party was siding with a leader accused of corruption.


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com