Communist Party of India (CPI) State secretary Kanam Rajendran, who has repeatedly given vent to his party’s displeasure about the manner in which the State police functions, said here on Wednesday that there seemed to be little in common between the style of functioning of the police and the Left Democratic Front government’s law enforcement policies.
Briefing reporters after a two-day meeting of the CPI State council, Mr. Rajendran said the mismatch between the real and the ideal in police policy in the State was there for all to see. His party was in total disagreement with several of the actions of the police. The party’s stand was that the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) should not be used against those engaged in popular agitations. The police had registered cases against All India Youth Federation activists while failing to do the same in the case of Bharatiya Janata Party workers who had blocked the path of human rights activists at Nilambur after the alleged encounter killing of two Maoists. The CPI leader did not see anything wrong in the Chief Minister convening a meeting of Minister’s personal staff members. The CPI Ministers had informed the party State executive about the meeting.
Mani’s case
He did not also think that Power Minister M.M. Mani should step down in the light of the Idukki Additional Sessions Court decision that he should stand trial in the Ancheri Baby murder case. He could continue so long as he is not barred by the Courts or the Election Commission. On the row over scrapping of government diaries owing to the CPI’s objections to the order in which the Ministers’ names had been included in it, Mr. Rajendran said the diaries had to be scrapped as the Ministers’ names were not in alphabetical order.
On Law Minister A.K. Balan’s criticism of Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan and Forest Minister K. Raju, both CPI nominees, Mr. Rajendran said the party would take it up with the CPI(M) leadership. The CPI, he said, did not believe in Ministers making public statements about their differences. The party would reply to the criticism at the appropriate forum at a time of its choosing, he added.
