CPI(M) polit bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan’s remark about Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan on Wednesday took the State CPI(M) to the edge of a crisis, but the two sides put their shoulders together on Thursday to save the blushes for the party.
Mr. Vijayan had triggered the crisis by stating, in reply to a question at a ‘meet-the-press’ programme here on Wednesday, that the resolution criticising Mr. Achuthanandan by the party State committee, prior to the Alappuzha State conference, was still valid.
However, at a news conference in Kollam on Thursday, he clarified that he had no intention of pointing an accusing finger at Mr. Achuthanandan.
He was only replying to specific questions about the resolution and Mr. Achuthanandan’s candidature.
The resolution had no relevance to the election and it was being raked up as part of a conspiracy against the CPI(M), he said.
On his part, Mr. Achuthanandan in a way contributed to the confusion by first putting up a Facebook post that Left Democratic Front leaders should not, even by mistake, utter words that could result in misunderstanding and wrong interpretations.
‘Vote for Vijayan’
His Facebook post came shortly after he had spoken at Chakkarakkallu in Kannur urging the voters of Dharmadam to give Mr. Vijayan a resounding victory, but it was soon interpreted to be a reprimand for Mr. Vijayan.
That forced Mr. Achuthanandan to put up another post two hours later stating that he had neither warned nor counselled anyone.
“All that I had done was to point out certain matters that Left Democratic Front leaders should take note of during an election,” he said, urging the media not to distort his jottings.
