Issac brings oust-VS demand to Delhi

In an indication of the deepening crisis in the CPI(M)s Kerala unit,the party Central Committee meeting on Saturday...

In an indication of the deepening crisis in the CPI(M)s Kerala unit,the party Central Committee meeting on Saturday witnessed demands for removal of Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan as well as disciplinary action against him.

While a demand for Achuthanandans removal as CM had already been voiced in state party fora by Vijayan loyalists,this is the first time that such a demand was made in the Central Committee.

The meeting which was convened to dissect the partys election debacle saw Finance Minister Issac Thomas,considered a staunch supporter of state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan,claim that Achuthanandans style of functioning had adversely affected the party in the polls.

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Sources said that Thomas charged Achuthanandan with behaving as if he was above the party. He said that the CM had refused to toe the party line,particularly on the SNC Lavalin graft case against Vijayan which the Politburo had dubbed politically motivated and did not allow the Cabinet to implement the decisions taken by the party.

Thomas alleged that the CM had played into the hands of the media and through his comments substantiated reports that the party was a divided house. He alleged that Achuthanandan had tried to tarnish the image of the state secretary.

Thomass demand was a reiteration of the post-poll analysis report of the CPI(M)s Kerala committee which blamed VS for the poll rout. Achuthanandan,in turn,had identified the Lavalin case and the tie-up with the PDP as reasons for the setback and demanded that Vijayan be asked to step down.

The first day of the Central Committee meeting also saw members expressing concern over the partys poor show in West Bengal and calling for a revamp of the organisational machinery in view of the Assembly polls being only two years away. Special emphasis was laid on the party reviving its contacts with the masses.