VS Achuthanandan would, however, continue as the CM.
With a view to end the bitter infighting in its Kerala unit, the CPI(M) central committee today expelled Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan from the party’s politburo for violating discipline, while favouring the state unit chief, Pinarayi Vijayan.
Even as Achuthanandan, better known as V S, along with politburo leaders like Sitaram Yechury and M K Pandhe wanted some action against Vijayan, it didn’t happen. The central committee (CC) gave a clean chit to Vijayan on the SNC Lavalin corruption case, but has ordered him to bring unity in the faction-ridden party unit in Kerala.
“The CC examined the report submitted by the politburo on the SNC Lavalin contract for the renovation and modernisation of three hydroelectric projects in Kerala. The CC is of the view that Pinarayi Vijayan, secretary of the Kerala state committee and the Electricity Minister in the then LDF government between 1996 and 98, was not involved in any corrupt practice whatsoever,” it said.
If this is a consolation prize for the VS camp, then another relief for them is that the CC didn’t remove him from the chief minister’s chair as demanded earlier by a large section of the Kerala unit and his Cabinet colleagues like Kerala education minister M A Baby, Finance Minister Thomas Issac and Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
“In view of the violations of the organisational principle and discipline by VS Achuthanandan, he should be removed from the politburo. Achuthanandan is the senior-most leader who has made a big contribution to the party in Kerala. The CC expected VS to fulfil his responsibilities as the chief minister and as a leader of the party”, the CC resolution said.
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So, after 25 years of the formation of the party, for the first time the CPI(M) politburo will not have any of its founder members. Among the 32 comrades who quit the CPI’s National Council in 1964 to form the CPI(M), only Jyoti Basu and Achuthanandan are alive now.
Basu was not included in the politburo in 2008 due to poor health and is currently a special invitee to the executive body. The other surviving member, VS, has been expelled.
Before leaving for Thiruvananthapuram, VS remained mum if he would continue as the CM but said he “accepts the decision of the party”. He also didn’t forget to reiterate that his stand on the SNC Lavalin case “has not changed”.
A veteran politburo member told Business Standard: “We hope VS will learn his lessons. Otherwise, there will be no other option but to remove him from the CM’s post if he carries on like the way he did earlier.”
Another CC member added: “The party has taken back his organisational authority. But if he doesn’t take the lesson, the next step will be to remove him. He is an elected chief minister, so the party can’t take such a harsh decision (removing him from CM’s post) immediately.”
According to sources, there was a lot of support for the chief minister in the CC and many leaders asked for some action even against Vijayan on grounds of instigating infighting. Although the CC didn’t publicly censure Vijayan on these issues but he has been clearly asked to put the house in order in Kerala. “The Kerala state committee should unify the entire party and go to the people with the political and organisational tasks which have been spelt out in the review of the Lok Sabha elections,” said the CC resolution.
The CC meeting lasted for more than three hours today and another politburo meeting had to be convened in the middle to reach a solution.
But before leaving Kerala House for Thiruvananthapuram, Pinarayi and Kodiyeri went to meet VS in his room — that meeting lasted for barely a minute.