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Achuthanandan out of Polit Bureau

V.S. Achuthanandan

NEW DELHI: The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Sunday decided to drop Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan from the Polit Bureau for violating the organisational principles and discipline. However, the senior most party leader would continue to head the State government.

The Central Committee also reiterated its decision to “politically and legally” fight the SNC-Lavalin case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in which Kerala State Committee Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has been accused.

The Committee said it examined the Polit Bureau’s report on the case and concluded that Mr. Vijayan was not involved in any corrupt practice whatsoever.

Mr. Achuthanandan did not attend the deliberations on Sunday as he was indisposed. Later, before leaving for Kerala, he told correspondents that he accepted the party’s decision. In response to a question whether he would continue with his stand against corruption, he said that he had “nothing [to say]”.

The decisions were announced through a statement at the end of Central Committee’s two-day deliberations on Kerala.

The discussions were preceded by an exhaustive debate by the Polit Bureau on July 4 and 5 following the Central Committee directive after its June 20 and 21 meeting.

Pinarayi Vijayan

In the statement, the Central Committee said it perused the report on SNC Lavalin contract for renovation and modernisation of three hydro-electric projects in Kerala that were entered into by the UDF government in 1995-96 and subsequently implemented by the LDF government between 1996 and 1998 in which Mr. Vijayan was the Electricity Minister.

“The Central Committee decided that in view of the violations of the organisational principle and discipline by Com. V.S. Achuthanandan, he should be removed from the Polit Bureau. Com. Achuthanandan is the senior most leader, who has made a big contribution to the Party in Kerala. The Central Committee expected Com. V.S. to fulfil his responsibilities as the Chief Minister and as a leader of the Party,” the statement said.

The Central Committee authorised the Polit Bureau to take necessary steps to implement its decisions. 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.

These deliberations conclude the exhaustive review the party conducted over its worst-ever performance in the Lok Sabha polls.

After a round of meetings at the State level, the party examined the results and adopted a 29-page report last month. It was at that meeting that the Central Committee decided to hold a Kerala specific review to address the organisational problems with both Mr. Achuthanandan and Mr. Vijayan pulling in different directions.

As he emerged from Kerala House here on his way to the airport to return to Thiruvananthpuram in the afternoon, asked for his response to the Central Committee’s decision, Mr. Achuthanandan said he was accepting it.