THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Party veteran V S Achuthanandan will duly discharge his duties as Opposition Leader in the coming Assembly session, CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said on Wednesday. “VS will strongly attack the ruling front in the Assembly.
I have no worries on that count. He will discharge his duties as Opposition Leader,’’ Kodiyeri remarked on the stand-off between the party leadership and Achuthanandan while addressing a meet-the-press programme organised by the Press Club. Kodiyeri said that he himself would be stepping down as Deputy Leader of Opposition now that he become the state secretary of the party.
“The party has suitable people. It is for the party to decide,” he said. The government would be throwing a challenge to the people if it lets Finance Minister K M Mani, accused in the bar scam, present the state budget, Kodiyeri said.
The LDF will meet on March 6 to decide the mode of agitation inside the Assembly. On March 7, CPM will hold agitation sat the panchayatlevel demanding Mani’s resignation. The party has not left a seat vacant in the state committee with any particular individual in mind, Kodiyeri said, on reports that Achuthanandan can still be accommodated at a later date. By March 25, amendments suggested to the draft political resolution and the report on the tactical line will be submitted to the central leadership.
To a question on the Aam Admi Party’s rise, Kodiyeri quipped that the CPM was the AAP in state.