Former Kerala chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan was Saturday pulled up at the state CPI-M conference for breaching party discipline, following which he walked out of the meet and revealed his intention to step down as leader of opposition. The party began a desperate attempt to mollify him and denied he walked out.
A grim-looking Achuthanandan walked out of the Saturday morning session of the 21st state party conference that began here Friday. He was followed by a battery of reporters but the veteran headed for his home near here at Punnapara, and did not speak to anyone.
Sources said the 91-year-old leader was deeply hurt after being criticised in a over 50 page party report which attacked him for his constant breach of party discipline.
His aide Berlin Kunjananthan Nair told reporters that Achuthanandan was deeply hurt.
"He told me that he will not leave the party and will attend the 22nd CPI-M Congress in Visakhapatnam in April. He wants to quit as leader of opposition in the assembly," said Nair, who has been close to Achuthanandan.
A crowd gathered outside Achuthanandan's residence and shouted slogans in his support.
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"He told me that when a party member belonging to a higher committee comes under attack in a meeting, he must be given an opportunity to reply to the remarks made against him," he said.
The party politburo met and decided to talk to Achuthanandan, who cancelled his press meeting scheduled to be held at 4 p.m at his home.
The CPI-M later said the veteran did not walk out of the party meeting.
Politburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan Saturday evening told reporters that Achuthanandan "informed us that he is going out for some time".
"At 11.30 a.m., he informed us he is going out, and this cannot be seen as an act of breaching party discipline. He never said he was going because he was upset, because of the criticism against him," said Balakrishnan, who was the home minister under Achuthanandan in LDF rule 2006-11.
But in the same breath, Balakrishnan added that party discipline in a Marxist-Leninist party like the CPI-M was of utmost importance and no one will be allowed to breach that.
Party's state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan had lashed out at Achuthanandan and told reporters that the meeting had admonished the veteran for his constant breach of party discipline in the past few years.
Soon after Vijayan made this remark, Achuthanandan breathed fire on Vijayan, causing a huge embarrassment to the party.
On Friday, in the report submitted by Vijayan in the 600-strong party delegate session, more than 50 pages portrayed Achuthanandan in poor light, while many leaders also spoke about him.
It was this that upset Achuthanandan Saturday morning.
Balakrishnan, however, faced a volley of questions about the incident but denied the veteran leader had been singled out.
"The report speaks of not just Achuthanandan, its a report which looks into the party functioning in the past three years and speaks of numerous leaders," he said.
Asked if Achuthanandan will attend Sunday's meeting, he said: "For that, you will have to ask him".
In reply to a question if Achuthanandan would be there in the party after the conference ends Monday, he said: "The party will be here. We do not wish to lose a single member from our party, as we are trying to include more members."
"We want you journalists also to join our party," Balakrishnan said in a lighter vein.
"I am not aware of any conditions that he (Achuthanandan) has put forward. One thing I can tell you is that tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon, our state secretariat is meeting and in attendance would be the eight politburo members who have come for this conference," Balakrishnan added.
Achuthanandan is the only person alive among the 38 council members who April 11, 1964, walked out of the Communist Party of India protesting some actions of party leader S.A. Dange, which paved the way for the formation of the CPI-M.