KOCHI: The CPM Ernakulam district committee, which met in the presence of state secretary M V Govindan on Thursday, has decided to remove CITU leader P K Anilkumar from all organisational responsibilities. The state general secretary of the Kerala Petroleum and Gas Workers Union had courted controversy after he bought a Mini Cooper car, costing around Rs 50 lakh. The meeting also decided to remove CPM district secretary C N Mohanan from the post of president of the union as it violates the party’s commitment to one-person, one-post.
The union, which functions under the state committee of the CITU, has around 4,000 contract workers employed at Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL).
Anilkumar had posted a picture of himself receiving the keys to the car. This raised questions about how a labour union leader can purchase a luxury car. There were also allegations that he owns three other luxury vehicles. Anilkumar argued that his wife, an IOC employee, had purchased the vehicle.
To compound his misery, the incident resurrected an earlier controversy involving a woman belonging to the Scheduled Caste community who alleged that Anilkumar had attacked her husband and humiliated her with a casteist slur during a protest.
The CPM meeting also discussed the report of the party commission that probed the LDF’s defeat in the Thrikkakara byelection. Senior leaders A K Balan and T P Ramakrishnan who were appointed to examine the defeat observed that there were some aberrations in the party that need to be corrected. The district committee decided not to take action against party leaders for the setback. But steps will be taken to ensure that such mistakes do not happen in future.