THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Admitting to a lack of vigil by the party with regard to the controversial Kerala Police Act amendment, LDF convener and party secretary in-charge A Vijayaraghavan said the legislation was withdrawn due to mounting criticism. He was addressing the media after the CPM state secretariat meet on Friday.“The amendment was introduced with good intentions. However, we realised it had a few limitations when it came to its implementation. That’s why it was withdrawn,” Vijayaraghavan said. He cited certain lapses in drafting the amendment as the reason for the subsequent corrective measures.
However, he refused to pinpoint who was at fault. “It was a collective decision by a group of party leaders from those in the central leadership to those working within the state government. It was not any individual leader’s fault,” he said.
Though there has been many controversies surrounding the CPM during this government’s time, it’s for the first time that the party has openly admitted to a mistake. It may be noted that the move was met with criticism from various quarters within the CPM as well, with leaders alleging that the amendment was introduced without any proper discussion.
During the CPM secretariat meet on Friday, a section of the party had expressed its unhappiness with the move, especially since it led to yet another controversy while the polls are around the corner, say sources. It is learnt that criticism regarding the functioning of the Chief Minister’s Office has also been brewing in the party for some time now.Law Minister AK Balan reportedly drew flak at the CPM secretariat meet for his remark over the Police Act amendment. The party leadership observed that the central committee member should have avoided making a statement favouring the amendment.
The party observed that the remark was made in the midst of the controversy. Within hours of Balan making the statement, the government decided not to enforce the same.At the meeting, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan explained the situation in which the amendment was introduced and the reasons for withdrawing the same.
A collective lapse, feels party
The controversy surrounding the Police Act amendment was created due to a lack of caution from the party and the government, said a senior leader. The party feels it was a collective lapse that should have been avoided.
“The government consists of our party leaders. So we feel that both the party and the government have the responsibility to verify these aspects. Since there were major criticisms, we decided to rectify the issue. That will only add to our credibility,” said a top leader.