A day after veteran leader V S Achuthanandan reportedly sent a letter to the politburo, the CPM leadership repeatedly made it clear that disciplinary action would be taken against those who do not fall in line. The public statements by Achuthanandan against the party leadership, followed by the statements by senior leaders T K Hamza and M M Mani, had brought to the fore the lack of unity within the CPM in the state, said the leadership.
Reporting the decisions of the CPM central and state committee meetings to the party’s district, area and local committee secretaries of the five districts in the central region, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat elaborated on the situation that led to the public censure of Achuthanandan, sources said.
While the fifth ministerial berth issue was a major headache for the UDF, the TP murder turned out to be a setback for the CPM. The media tried to put the blame on the CPM. The Neyyatinkara poll occurred during that time. There were attempts to weaken the party in the state. There were similar attempts in Bengal and Tripura.
Karat elaborated on the resolution passed by the central committee which was later published in party’s mouth-piece Desabhimani. In a clear signal to Achuthanandan, who continues to defy the party leadership, Karat urged the comrades to maintain discipline.
The central region reporting, which which was attended by leaders from Ernakulam, Thrissur, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Idukki, was also attended by state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan. Central committee member P Karunakaran MP presided over the meet.
Reporting the situation that led to the initiation of disciplinary action against its veteran leader, the leaders reportedly pointed out that VS has been asked to express his regret over equating state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan with Dange.
According to sources, the leadership also asked the party’s local leaders to avoid discussing issues within the party in public forums.
Differences of opinion within the party should be kept within the party forums, the leaders said.