Karat names VS as CPM announces gag order on giving public statements

A cautious snub to V S Achuthanandan and a subtle blow to Pinarayi Vijayan the CPM central leadership attempted a balancing act to restore a semblance

A cautious snub to V S Achuthanandan and a subtle blow to Pinarayi Vijayan the CPM central leadership on Monday attempted a balancing act to restore a semblance of order in its Kerala unit that has been in the throes of an unprecedented crisis triggered by the killing of a rebel CPM leader.

Notwithstanding the repeated assertions by the Vijayan-led official leadership that the party has no hand in the murder and that the case against its leaders is motivated,CPM general secretary Prakash Karat said the party would conduct an internal inquiry to ascertain whether any of its members was involved in the killing of T P Chandrasekharan.

The move is seen as a setback to the state leadership,which has been attributing political motives behind the arrest of several of its local functionaries in connection with the murder. Sources said VS demanded action against those arrested in connection with the murder at the two-day central committee meeting of the CPM that concluded here on Sunday.

At the same time,the declaration that the party would conduct an inquiry is seen as a moral victory for VS,though Karat did assert that the party has no involvement in the murder and that efforts were on to implicate leaders of our party,and that the UDF government and Congress leaders were influencing the police investigation.

He said the probe was ordered because of the concerted campaign being waged against the party.

VS,however,has reasons to worry. Karat singled him out while announcing a general gag order. The Politburo has asked V S Achuthanandan and other leaders not to make any public statements8230;air their views, he said in a clear indication that the central leadership was not at all pleased with his washing dirty linen in public.

Asked about the internal inquiry,Karat said: We will examine this8230; We have our own internal way of doing it8230; While he refused to divulge the contours of the internal probe,sources said it could be a committee or commission. If anyone is found involved in the murder from our party at any level,we will take strong action8230;Such people will not find a place in our party, he said.

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The central leadership has already decided not to take action against VS for his public statements as it wants the state committee to discuss all the issues first in the presence of senior Politburo members. It would intervene if differences arose. Some party leaders felt this amounted to preparing the ground for action against VS as they pointed out that the state committee was heavily dominated by his detractors and the discussion was in all likelihood set to be one-sided.