CPI (M) State Committee to remove VS from office

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPI (M) State Committee on Monday decided to remove Opposition Leader V.S. Achuthanandan from office. A resolution concerning this would be sent to the Politburo and party’s Central Committee for consideration.

The decision was taken at a special session of the party State Committee. Achuthanandan, however, did not attend the meeting.

The main agenda of the meeting was discussion of the recent controversy triggered by opposition leader V S Achuthanandan through a press conference and channel interview.

Achuthanandan in a recent interview to a Malayalam TV channel had said he was dropped from the politburo a few years ago for telling the truth about a corruption case in which CPI (M) State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan was facing probe.

Achuthanandan was referring to his removal from the CPI (M) apex body when he was chief minister in the context of charges brought against Vijayan pertaining to a contract awarded to the Canadian company SNC Lavalin to renovate three power stations in Kerala, when the latter was electricity minister in 1997.

The resolution was presented for discussion by CPI (M) State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan. Out of the 53 members who spoke at the meeting, 45 members harshly criticized Achuthanandan.

Pinarayi Vijayan said that Achuthanandan had sent the party a letter in which he asked not to invite him to attend the party’s state committee meetings till the next central committee meeting ends.