THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: V S Achuthanandan had gone underground during the Punnapra-Vayalar struggle as per the instruction of the Communist party leadership, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He was speaking at a function held in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday during the release of VS’ biography, Oru Samara Noottandu.
“VS was part of those who organised the Punnapra struggle. When it broke out, the police launched a hunt for the organisers of the agitation. At that time the party instructed VS to go underground. He first went to Kottayam and then to Poonjar. Later he was caught by the police and subjected to third-degree torture. He was jailed for a long time,” Pinarayi said.
Pinarayi said VS was among the leaders behind the formation of the first Communist government in the country. “He played a pivotal role in the formation of CPM after the 1964 split in the Communist party. VS was jailed in 1964 and during Emergency,” he said.
Director Shaji N Karun received the first copy of the book written by K V Sudhakaran. “For a filmmaker like me, the 100 years are like a tree becoming big as well as deep-rooted. VS is more rooted than a tree,” he said. Sheela Thomas, who was principal secretary to VS when he was the CM, said she is even now unaware of the reason why he picked her.
“I had not met VS before that. When he called me to Cantonment House and informed me about his decision I was surprised. Until then I didn’t know him very well. However, contrary to popular perception at the time about his calibre in an executive post, VS was very strict,” she said.