THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPM state leadership and the Left government are unhappy with the manner in which the Kochi corporation led by the LDF and the Ernakulam district committee of the party handled the issues over the Brahmapuram fire.
The CPM leadership is of the view that there was a concerted effort from some quarters to dump complete responsibility on the biomining company. Linking the controversial company with senior leader Vaikom Viswan was also unwarranted and deliberate, the state leadership believes.
The incident has once again highlighted the differences between the CPM district and state leadership.
The party leadership believes that the internal feud within the district CPM and the leadership tussle have cost the government dearly. It is of the view that some leaders in the district continue to embarrass the party using the media.
A top CPM source told TNIE that the feud within the CPM district leadership is responsible for the failure in handling the issue properly.
“After the fire broke out at Brahmapuram dump yard, the corporation was busy distancing itself from responsibility for the incident,” a senior CPM leader told TNIE.
“CPM leaders in the corporation remained silent when questions were raised about the role played by Zonta Infratech, the company responsible for biomining,” he said.
“Moreover, there was a deliberate attempt to portray Mayor Anilkumar and a section of CPM district leaders as being opposed to the deal with Zonta. They were trying to place the blame on a close relative of party senior leader Vaikom Viswan,” he added.
The party-state leadership and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had expressed their displeasure over linking Viswan’s name with the controversy, which they believe was deliberate.
The government is of the view that the corporation tried to shirk responsibility for failure in managing waste, which was reflected in the chief minister’s statement in the assembly. The corporation was placed under the spotlight with no word spoken against the private company.
The internal feud within the district unit of the CPM was evident during the selection of candidates for the Thrikkakara byelection.
The factionalism in the district has been a major headache for the state leadership for many years, which multiple rounds of interventions and disciplinary action had failed to resolve. However, a party source said the state leadership is unlikely to intervene in the feud for the time being.