Former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan is understood to have written to the CPI(M) Polit Bureau questioning appointment of M.M. Mani, an accused in the Ancheri Baby murder case, as Minister in the Pinarayi Vijayan Cabinet and calling for steps to tone up the functioning of the party and the government.
Mr. Achuthanandan is reported to have pointed out that Mr. Mani’s appointment had raised serious ethical questions and put the party and the government on the defensive. Mr. Mani was kept out of the Cabinet at the time of its formation given the pending trial in the murder case. That being the case, he should not have been considered for the Cabinet berth when E.P. Jayarajan vacated office in the wake of charges of nepotism, the CPI(M) veteran felt.
He has also expressed serious misgivings about the functioning of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government and pointed out that though the LDF had come to power promising much, the government could not deliver on most of the promises.
Although the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) had begun on a strong note, its spirit appeared to be flagging and there was a widespread feeling that investigations against the Chief Minister and Ministers in the last government had lost their steam. The party itself should be more forceful in its response to the evolving political situation in the country. Its response to demonetisation should have been more potent and the party should have launched a strong protest over the issue across the country, he has said.
The Polit Bureau met here on Thursday to finalise the agenda for the three-day meeting of the party Central committee beginning here on Friday and reviewed the political situation in the light of the declaration of elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa.
The Central committee is expected to discuss the election scene and also consider organisational matters. Whether the committee would take up the report of the Polit Bureau commission that had gone into the CPI(M) State leadership’s charges of indiscipline against Mr. Achuthanandan remains to be seen. If it does so, there is the possibility of Mr. Achuthanandan being subjected to some form of disciplinary action against him. The same could apply to Mr. Jayarajan and P.K. Sreemathy, if the committee takes up the nepotism charges against them.
