A.M. Salim has been elected Secretary of the Puducherry unit of the Communist Party of India. He had served as assistant secretary and treasurer of the party.
The three-day State conference of the party, which concluded here on Sunday, elected V.S. Abhishekam and T. Geethanathan as assistant secretaries. V. Subbaiah was elected treasurer.
CPI leaders D. Raja said secular parties should join together to fight communal forces.Criticising the BJP-led NDA government for the present situation, he said the RSS had been wielding influence in the BJP and was remote-controlling the government.
On the scam in the Punjab National Bank, he said the BJP should not try to deflect attention by maintaining that illegal lending started during the previous regime. The BJP was answerable since it held power at the Centre, he added.
The Communist Party of India (CPI) would definitely raise the issue in Parliament, he added. The former Minister R. Viswanathan and N. Kalainathan were present.
