Newly elected CPI state secretary C K Chandrappans suggestion of reinventing the party,often accused of playing second fiddle to big brother CPM,has not gone down well with CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan. Addressing a press conference here,Vijayan said it seemed that Chandrappan had no clear idea about the political situation in Kerala since he (as the CPI national secretariate member) had been in Delhi dealing with national issues. Vijayan was reacting to the recent observations of Chandrappan that the parties which had walked out of the Left Democratic Front should be brought back. Chandrappan was mainly referring to the Janata Dal (S) faction led by M P Veerendrakumar and Kerala Congress (Joseph) group,which are now in the Congress-led United Democratic Front. The CPI state secretary had even hinted that the CPM should take the initiative to bring back Veerendrakumar,whom Vijayan has always seen as a bête noire. Veerendrakumar had left the LDF due to his affinity towards the Congress. That exit did not have any ideological matters. Chandrappan had commented on Veerendrakumar because of his poor understanding of state politics, Vijayan said. The CPM Politburo member said his party did not endorse the reported views of Chandrappan that the Left had committed a mistake by keeping away from UPA-I. Chandrappan,in a quick response,said Vijayan should not forget that he (Chandrappan) had been thrice elected from Kerala to the Lok Sabha. Since his election as the CPI state secretary last month,Chandrappan has been struggling to keep distance from the CPM. Referring to the SNC Lavani case in which Vijayan is an accused,Chandrappan had said that all corruption cases should go through the legal course.
