CPI(M) should retire Nayanar: Antony

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, AUG. 29. The Leader of the Opposition, Mr. A. K. Antony, has suggested that the CPI(M) retire the Chief Minister, Mr. E. K. Nayanar, from politics as he is behaving in an irresponsible manner.

At a press conference here today, Mr. Antony said the Chief Minister had tried to cast a shadow of doubt over distinguished Chief Ministers of the past by alleging that all of them except E. M. S. Namboodiripad, C. Achutha Menon and himself were corrupt. None except Mr. Nayanar had ever alleged that leaders like Pattom Thanu Pillai and C. Kesavan were corrupt. Further, Mr. Nayanar went on to deny his statement made in the presence of the media, instead of apologising for the same.

Taking objection to Mr. Nayanar's behaviour, Mr. Antony said the Chief Minister had turned politics of blackmail into an art. He was blackmailing his political opponents, officials and even those in his party who were opposed to him. He had even tried to implicate the son of a politburo member in a corruption case. If he had any proof against corruption by his political opponents, he should initiate action instead of making threats.

Protesting against the remarks of Mr. Nayanar against the former Chief Ministers, the Leader of the Opposition said he had put up with the ``fourth-rate'' style of the Chief Minister considering Mr. Nayanar's age. He said Mr. Nayanar had no calibre to criticise the late leaders like Pattom Thanu Pillai, C. Kesavan, A. J. John, R. Sankar and C. H. Mohammed Koya. His remarks were unfortunate. A loose tongue like Mr. Nayanar's would do the State harm.

Mr. Antony said he agreed with the CPI leader, Mr. Veliyam Bhargavan, that Mr. Nayanar was suffering from dementia. So, it would be appropriate to retire Mr. Nayanar from politics. It was not proper for Mr. Nayanar to issue certificates to himself. While claiming to be corruption- free and accusing others of it, Mr. Nayanar should also be able to explain the allegations being raised inside and outside the Assembly against the members of his family. Instead of giving any explanation in the House, Mr. Nayanar had pretended to be sleeping or busy reading newspapers.

Mr. Antony said he was asking for no concession from Mr. Nayanar in the assessment of his record as Chief Minister. If Mr. Nayanar had any evidence of corruption against him, he should initiate action. Was Mr. Nayanar prepared for a judicial inquiry covering both the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition and their families, Mr. Antony asked. As for the allegations against Mr. Karunakaran, Mr. Nayanar had not been able to prosecute Mr. Karunakaran even after several years. The Supreme Court had rejected the case against Mr. Karunakaran.

Mr. Antony said the differences in the Congress(I) were solvable. The issues would be settled by October. Organisational elections would be held in November.

He said a clear picture on seat-sharing for the panchayat elections in the UDF would emerge only by October 2. It was premature to speculate on what the Muslim League was doing, he said when asked about reported parleys between the League and the ruling front for electoral adjustments.

He said the LDF was encouraging defections for winning the panchayat elections. This showed their lack of confidence. It was not prepared to accept the elections as a referendum on the LDF rule.

He said that the UDF stood for further decentralisation of powers. The grama sabhas needed to be strengthened and the panchayats liberated from the clutches of the LDF. The LDF had politicised the People's Plan Campaign and used power for the benefit of the party and its supporters.

Though the LDF claimed credit for decentralisation by labelling it as Plan Campaign, decentralisation was an idea propagated by the Congress(I). It had tried to make decentralisation a success. The president of the Chapparakkadavu panchayat, which had been selected as the best panchayat, belonged to the Congress(I), Mr. Antony said.

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