THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPI leadership, particularly state secretary Binoy Viswam, came under severe criticism at the state council meeting over its decision to publicly stake the party’s claim to the post of deputy leader of the opposition in the assembly.
Several district secretaries and other leaders reportedly questioned the leadership’s handling of the issue, arguing that the matter should have been taken up through internal discussions rather than being made public.
“The issue should have been raised at the appropriate LDF forum instead of being aired publicly,” leaders are learnt to have said. They also argued that, having made the claim public, the party could no longer withdraw from its position. According to party sources, several leaders urged the leadership to stick to the demand, saying it had now become a matter of prestige for the CPI.
The criticism is seen as a setback for the state leadership, which had maintained that the CPI had a legitimate claim to the post following the assembly election results. Leaders who spoke at the meeting expressed concern that the public assertion of the demand had created an avoidable controversy.
The council also witnessed sharp criticism of the leadership’s decision-making process. Several leaders accused the state secretariat of keeping the state executive, which they described as the party’s legitimate decision-making body, in the dark while taking key decisions.
Questioning the secretariat’s growing role, a majority of the district secretaries reportedly asked whether the state executive’s authority to take decisions had been taken over by the state secretariat.
“Although the state executive had the authority to finalise the candidates list, that power was exercised by the state secretariat. It is this lapse that led to shortcomings in candidate selection,” leaders reportedly said.
They also criticised the demeanour of former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan as one of the reasons for the electoral setback. However, they questioned the conclusion of the election review report presented by the state secretariat that the defeat had been unexpected.
“Anyone with political common sense would not claim that the electoral defeat was unexpected. If we claim that we did not foresee it, it only reflects the party’s growing disconnect from the masses,” the leaders reportedly said at the meeting.
