MADURAI: A day after the Union Government issued permission for prosecution sanction against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter, Veena T in the CMRL issue, the Kerala CPM rallied behind Pinarayi. Terming it a politically motivated move, a united party leadership made it very clear that it'll be faced legally and politically.
The Centre's move, at a time when the 24th Party Congress is in progress, is being viewed as a deliberate action to corner the ruling Left in Kerala. Sensing a political conspiracy, a slew of leaders came out questioning the SFIO move and its timing.
Senior Politburo member and interim coordinator Prakash Karat said the move against the CM's daughter will be faced legally. Politburo member MA Baby raised suspicions that a deliberate conspiracy behind the move is to be suspected. He pointed out that the SFIO action came, when Kerala and Tamil Nadu chief ministers were attending a session against the Union government.
Senior leaders, including state secretary MV Govindan, ministers KN Balagopal and P Rajeeve and party central committee members KK Shailaja and AK Balan, came out in defence of the CM and his daughter. They pointed out that the SFIO move comes, hardly a week after the High Court turned down demands for a vigilance investigation into the matter.
Even when the party leadership stands united against the SFIO case, there are concerns within the party. The case against the CM's daughter has unfortunately hogged headlines at a time, the party Congress seeks to highlight the Kerala model as an alternative. On Friday, the party Congress passed a resolution seeking to resist the Centre's moves against the Left government in Kerala.