MALAPPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan came under severe attack for his autocratic style of functioning at the CPI state conference on Friday.During discussions on the political report, delegates were critical of Pinarayi over various issues. There were apparent references to the Munnar land issue, his autocratic style of functioning, confrontations with the media, etc.
“Everybody agrees with the fact that the RSP and Janata Dal left the LDF because of him. There are mentions about it in the report also. How can the CM let somebody like Gita Gopinath function as his economic adviser?” the delegates pointed out. There is a sort of general opposition among the delegates to the CM’s approach to various issues, especially those in which the CPI is involved. Evaluating the performance of the government, the meet came down heavily on ministers also. Finance Minister Thomas Isaac was one of the targets for his stance on the GST issue.
Contrary to the Left view, Isaac had welcomed the GST in the first place. Later, he had to admit that the state’s revenue had gone down after the introduction of GST.Strengthening the party leadership was the need of the hour, said one of the delegates. JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar should be brought to the party national leadership, he said. Kumar is being kept away due to the insecurity of certain national leaders, the delegate said. At the state level, more leaders should come to the top, said one of the delegates, who observed that merely having one Kanam Rajendran will not be suffice.
Party ministers slammed Though the secretary’s report termed the performance of the CPI ministers satisfactory, there was severe criticism against them. Referring to late leader E Chandrasekharan Nair, the delegates assessed the performance of the Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan.“It was pointed out by a delegate that merely sporting the name Chandrasekharan wouldn’t do. The delegates naturally compared performances. It was in connection with the Munnar issue that the remarks were made,” said sources.
Forest Minister K Raju too came under criticism. Taking a dig at him, one of the delegates reminded him that he is not the minister of wild animals alone. The performance of two other party ministers also came under scrutiny.
There were also criticism against attempts to whitewash the Vigilance Department. The Vigilance has become a system to cover the corrupt, said one of the delegates.LIFE Mission, one of the key projects of the Pinarayi government, too came under criticism as the delegates felt that there was nothing new in the initiative other than what the previous CPI government had implemented. Noticeably, the LIFE Mission had invited the wrath of delegates at the recent CPM conference also.
The national leadership too came under attack as delegates felt that top leaders were not actively involved in struggles and agitations. “Assessing the government’s performance, the delegates took a critical view of the government and the ministers. Creative discussions were held and proposals to improve the government’s performance were made. Not only the CM, but the performance of the government in toto, including the CPI ministers, were discussed,” said senior leader K P Rajendran, while briefing the media.
The delegates came up with various suggestions to expand the Left base in Kerala in addition to measures for more effective functioning of the government and to increase the party’s influence among Dalits and minorities. Discussions on the political report got over by Friday afternoon. A total of 17 delegates representing various districts, service banks and pravasi organisations took part in the discussions.