Red: In black 038; white

With a number of corruption and criminal charges piled up against many of its senior- and middle-level party functionaries, the CPI-M is all...

With a number of corruption and criminal charges piled up against many of its senior- and middle-level party functionaries, the CPI-M is all set to refurbish the party image with a 13-point code of conduct for its members.

The 8216;8216;dos and don8217;ts8217;8217; in the code of conduct are expected to weed out the unwanted elements from the rank and file. Sources say the code of conduct will be endorsed in the coming Politburo meeting and extended to all party units, specially Kerala.

Admitting that the list has been issued primarily to 8216;8216;remove bad elements from the party8217;8217;, Politburo member Prakash Karat said: 8216;8216;It is guideline for functionaries on how to conduct themselves in public.8217;8217; He said it came about at 8216;8216;the party8217;s periodic stock-taking excise and after several complaints were received.8217;8217;

From the grassroot workers to the party honchos, every member will have to 8216;8216;provide satisfactory explanation to relevant internal party committee for any disproportionate income/assets detected besides his/her known source of income.8217;8217;

8216;8216;It will be mandatory for members to submit accounts of their income and expenditure. If logical explanation cannot be provided, they can even be expelled,8217;8217; a senior leader said, adding that the practice is already in place but 8216;8216;it needs to made stringent and foolproof8217;8217;.

To further stem the rot, the party workers and the secretariat has been asked not to raise party funds without receipts. And not just that, spending of funds has to be accounted for till the last penny.

While issuing the code of conduct, the CPI-M leadership also commented on the extravagant lifestyle of certain party leaders 8216;8216;who have forgotten the austere lifestyle required of Marxists.8217;8217;

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Cases have been registered against a CPI-M Minister of State in the Cabinet in the Left Front government who has the backing of two senior party leaders but his Small-scale and Cottage Industry portfolio has not been taken away.

Also, murder cases has been registered against the local committee member of suburban Kolkata, Dulal Banerjee. And a powerful Central Committee member from Burdhwan also faces similar charges.