Karat: VS was right, due process wasn’t followed

CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat on Thursday slammed both the warring factions in the party’s state unit...

CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat on Thursday slammed both the warring factions in the party’s state unit, asserting that the spectacle of the Chief Minister and two of his ministers pulling in different directions over the Asian Development Bank loan controversy did not augur well for joint responsibility.

Addressing the media, Karat said Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan was right that due processes had not been followed before deciding on the loan, and he was in the dark about conditions in the final loan agreement. The CPI(M) chief said the loan should be discussed first by the Cabinet, though he added that the original ADB conditions had since been altered at the instance of the Government.

Karat was also candid that there was not much coordination between the party and its government in Kerala. The five-member committee headed by CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan to ensure this vital need had not been effective. “We have decided on corrective measures,” Karat said, adding that the coordination committee will now meet every week to do the needful.

Meanwhile, the CPI(M) in Kerala is preparing for another churning, over the new draft industrial policy, now under the party scanner. Obviously underlining the state’s desperation for investment, some of its clauses are blatantly unconventional and departing from the traditional premises of the Kerala left, which could take some pushing for VS and his hardline faction to agree with.