CPM red-faced over VS letter

The Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly,V S Achuthanandan,on Monday forced CPM general secretary Prakash Karat to admit that he was in possession of a letter that the former Kerala chief minister had written to him. The CPM central leadership had to come out of denial mode after VS revealed that he had written to Karat,much to the embarrassment of those who were denying the existence of any such letter.

After the contents of the letter became public on Sunday,the central leadership feigned ignorance about it while VSs bete noire and CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan termed it a creation of the media. Karats statement issued after VS told reporters in Kerala that he has written to the general secretary is seen as a balancing act and a damage control exercise. While announcing that he has received the letter,Karat disputed its contents. Karat,said: I wish to state that a letter has been received. However,the reports appearing in the media regarding the letter are misleading. They seem to be intended to create confusion.