KOCHI: The CPM state secretariat, which met here on Friday, decided to raise the issue of CPI ministers boycotting the weekly Cabinet meeting at the next LDF meeting. Sources said on Friday, the CPM secretariat had also decided to avoid any public statements against the CPI. “However, the majority of the members say there is no need to surrender before the CPI. The decision is to call an LDF meeting soon as the party does not want any bilateral discussion with the CPI,” they said.
Earlier, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had described the decision by CPI Ministers E Chandrasekharan, V S Sunil Kumar, K Raju and P Thilothaman not to attend the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday as ‘unprecedented.’ The CPI ministers decided to boycott the meeting demanding Thomas Chandy’s ouster from the ministry.In reply to CPM’s remarks, CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran, in an editorial in party organ ‘Janayugam’ on Thursday said an extraordinary situation forced the party to take such an unusual step with the good knowledge that it was an unprecedented action.
Meanwhile, the CPM has criticised CPI’s decision to boycott the meeting in its mouthpiece on Friday.
CPM secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan too blamed the CPI leadership for the decision, which, according to him, would weaken the political unity of the LDF. “However, the state secretariat on Friday asked the members/leaders to keep away from making open statements against the CPI and to raise the issue in the next LDF meeting.”
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday expressed his anger at the media when he was confronted by reporters outside the Lenin Centre here. When a television news reporter asked him about the CPM-CPI conflict in the backdrop of Transport Minister Thomas Chandy’s resignation, the Chief Minister at first did not say anything and then admonished the reporter by saying, ‘step aside’ (‘maari nilkku angottu’ in Malayalam) when the microphone was reached out to him.