THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPI state leadership meet, which has been in session here for the past two days, remained vertically divided over the party enquiry commission’s report on the ‘payment seat’ controversy. The commission comprising leaders P Thilothaman MLA, P K Krishnan and P Prasad had found that some ‘dirty dealings’ had taken place in the selection of candidate for the Thiruvananthapuram LS seat. It had also been reported to the state secretariat and state executive committee of the party that money had been changed hands.
Moreover, the candidate, Bennet Abraham, had reportedly donated `1.87 crore to the party fund. The report, which was critical of Legislature Party leader C Divakran, state executive committee member P Ramachandran Nair and district secretary Venjarammoodu Sasi, expressed the panel’s disgust over the issue in strong terms. The report submitted before the secretariat meeting on Wednesday had already created divide among the leadership with Legislature Party leader Divakaran and AITUC state general secretary Kanam Rajendran pitted against each other.
When the issue came up before the state executive committee meeting on Thursday, the members reportedly reacted sharply. As many of the members sought strong disciplinary action, Divakaran and others had to go on the defensive.
Meanwhile, P Ramachandran Nair, Chairman and Managing Director of party mouthpiece Janayugam, availed leave from the party for ‘’meeting his son in the United States.’’ Ramachandran Nair told mediapersons here that he had applied for leave one-and-a-half months back and he had not done anything wrong. District secretary Venjarammoodu Sasi, while speaking to mediapersons, said that he had no role in the selection of the party candidate for Thiruvananthapuram. “It was the party which selected the candidate. There was no role for any particular leader in the selection of the candidate,’’ Sasi said. Divakaran, who was defiant when mediapersons confronted him with the query whether disciplinary action would be initiated, said that there was no such move in the party and if at all anything was to happen in the party it was not for the first time.
However, Kanam Rajendran told reporters that the party secretariat had considered the report seriously and a comprehensive discussion would be held in the state executive committee meeting in this regard. “The executive panel meeting will look into details of the report and recommend it to the state council for taking appropriate action,’’ he said.