VS Achuthanandan's family to follow party line on Padma honour
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Fuelling speculation that the relatives of V S Achuthanandan may choose not to accept the Padma Vibhushan posthumously conferred on the late CPM stalwart, his son VA Arun Kumar, in a social media post, said the family stands by the values upheld by the former chief minister, and that the it will follow the party’s decision on the matter.
Confirming that the Home Ministry had formally informed them about conferring Padma Vibhushan to VS, Arun said the family considers the award an honour to the services his father rendered to society. However, the party his father represented has a clear stand on accepting such official honours.
“As a communist, he always abided by such ideals and party decisions. In this case, the family will stand by the party’s decision and my father’s ideals,” Arun wrote in the post. He also said the place people have in their hearts for VS was bigger than any honour.
Speaking to TNIE later, Arun said the family is waiting for the party to take a stance. “The party is yet to inform us of its decision. We will follow what the party decides,” he reiterated.
Though Arun had earlier indicated the award would be accepted, the CPM leadership had pointed out that communist leaders usually don’t accept such official honours. A slew of late communist leaders including E M S Namboodiripad and Jyoti Basu had refused to accept such honours. The leadership also indicated that VS’ family can take a call on whether to accept the honour or not.