THRISSUR: Conceding to delegates’ criticism, the CPM leadership urged party cadre to exercise caution in their actions in view of the campaigns against the state government following political violence and said strict action would be taken to prevent such incidents.
“The party has decided to exercise caution in this regard. There’re no incidents of violence led by the party. The party doesn’t issue directives for violence or attacks on houses. But when there’re incidents of political violence during times of conflict, there’s an attempt to isolate the party,” said central committee member A Vijayaraghavan.
Violence is not an option to resist opponents. It happens primarily during incidents of tension. But the party has realised political murders could be used by opponents against the Left government. Strict directives have been given to cadre to avoid such a situation. Asked whether there was criticism against the party’s Kannur unit, he said delegates did point at the general trend in this regard. That is why the party feels caution should be maintained. When there are campaigns that put the party on the defensive or affect its image, it is natural for delegates to point out the same.
Ministers draw flak
Delegates were also critical of the functioning of ministers. If it were the CPI ministers who were criticised on Friday, party ministers and their departments were assessed on Saturday. The delegates opined inefficient ministers should be excluded from the state cabinet. Demands for a cabinet reshuffle also came up.Some delegates expressed displeasure over the performances of ministers Ramachandran Kadannappally, A K Saseendran and former minister Thomas Chandy. While some mentioned the poor performance of KSRTC, others termed the health department’s functioning as a failure. The GST issue and the state finance department’s stance favouring GST also came under attack. The CPI continued to draw flak from the delegates.
Criticism against the police too was a noticeable feature of Saturday’s discussions. A delegate from Kannur who spoke during the general discussion said the CPM workers should get justice from the police. There need not be any special consideration towards the CPM workers from the police, but justice for party workers should be ensured.In general, the delegates supported the leadership’s move to expand the LDF by inducting new parties. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s performance was generally appreciated.
Discussion concludes
The two-day discussion on the organisational report presented by state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan concluded on Saturday. A total of 62 delegates including 13 women spoke at the 9-hour, 16-minute discussion.Delegates demanded action should be taken to fulfil the election promises in a time-bound manner. They demanded there be specific programmes to bring the benefit of government schemes directly to the people. Delegates also asked the government to urgently complete the distribution of land to tribals in the state.