3 top leaders penalized
Heads started rolling in the top Kerala CPI leadership on Saturday over the allegation that the Thiruvananthapuram seat was allocated to an outsider, who was a Christian church representative on payment of money, in the last lok Sabha polls.
As per the allegation, to probe which a three-member party commission was appointed, `1.87 crore had been involved in the allocation of the Thiruvananthapuram seat to Dr Bennet Abraham, a prominent member of the Church of South India, but the actual amount involved could have been `4 crore.
The entire State leadership was found responsible for the wrong selection of candidate which culminated in the loss of the Thiruvananthapuram seat. In the triangular poll battle, Bennet Abraham, the CPI candidate of the CPI(M)-led lDF, was pushed to the third place behind Congress’s Shashi Tharoor, who retained the seat, and O Rajagopal of the BJP.
On Saturday, the CPI’s State council removed a district secretary and a State executive member and demoted two members of the State council and State executive to district council. Sources said that the party had asked the national leadership to initiate disciplinary action against four national executive members but State secretary Pannyan Raveendran denied this.
“There were certain failures on the part of the leadership in connection with the selection of party candidate for the Thiruvananthapuram lok Sabha seat,” Pannyan said while rejecting charges of financial irregularities. “Why should we accept moneyIJ There is no mention of anything like that in the party commission’s report,” he said.
The action against the top leaders became a virtual admission that the entire top leadership was involved in the allocation of the Thiruvananthapuram seat to Bennet on alleged payment of money and pressures from a particular community, a practice that has never been heard of in connection with the two main communist parties of India, the CPI and CPI(M).
The council decided to remove national executive member and parliamentary party leader C Divakaran from State executive. Sources said that there was a recommendation for action against national executive members including Pannyan and Divakaran. Pannyan refused to confirm this but said, “We will communicate with national leadership on the council’s decisions.”
Venjaramood Sasi, Thiruvananthapuram district secretary, was removed from that post and he and P Ramachandran Nair were removed from State executive and State council. Both would continue as district council members, Pannyan said. Nair has also been removed from the post of chairman and managing director of Janayugam newspaper, the CPI’s official organ.
Amidst reported demands for the dissolution of the entire State secretariat, Pannyan Raveendran, against whom scathing criticisms were leveled at the meetings, expressed readiness to step down as State secretary. However, Pannyan told newsmen, “These are all exaggerated reports though party leaders have every right to criticise their secretary.”
Several leaders opined during the meetings of the secretariat, council and executive that that the decision to select Bennet Abraham as candidate could not have been taken by the district committee alone but the entire State leadership was equally responsible. There were also reports that there was pressure on the CPI leadership from the CPI(M) to allot ticket to Bennet.
Venjaramood Sasi told newsmen that Bennet had not figured on the list of three names the district committee had proposed as possible candidates. “The final decision on the candidate was taken by the State secretariat. How can I be held responsible for Bennet’s selection thenIJ” Sasi asked, indicating that he might quit the CPI.
The development has embarrassed CPI(M), leader of the lDF, which had tried to justify Bennet’s candidature whenever criticisms had arisen. On Saturday, lDF convener Vaikom Viswan, a CPI(M) central committee member, said in Delhi, “There is no meaning in the allegation that Benet had become candidate on payment. How can an lDF seat be a payment seatIJ”