The State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPIM)] on Thursday decided to remove Anavoor Nagappan as the party’s Thiruvananthapuram district secretary and nominate V. Joy, MLA, in his stead.
The CPI(M) district secretariat and committee would convene soon to ratify Mr. Joy’s elevation.
Mr. Nagappan, who steered the party to a thumping victory in the district in the 2021 Assembly elections, had, of late, come under a host of accusations, notably nepotism in appointments to local bodies and institutions under the Cooperation department.
For one, his critics had accused him of seeking a letter from Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran detailing the temporary vacancies available in the Corporation, allegedly to insert party nominees into the post by circumventing the Employment Exchange process.
Ms. Rajendran and Mr. Nagappan have since denied the charge. A police enquiry had absolved them of any wrongdoing. Nevertheless, the Congress has moved the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) against them.
The VACB, in turn, has reportedly sought the government’s sanction to conduct a preliminary inquiry against the duo to establish whether or not they had committed a cognisable offence.
Nevertheless, the charges triggered a month-long protest by the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), culminating in the resignation of former Corporation works standing committee chairman D. R. Anil, a CPI(M) councillor.
Mr. Nagappan also reportedly drew flak in party committees for allegedly backing specific Students Federation of India (SFI) and the Democratic Youth of India (DYFI) leaders with a chequered background and questionable conduct.
The CPI(M) State secretariat had recently adopted a resolution to steer away party members from “bourgeoise tendencies” such as corruption, nepotism and profiteering through a process of inner-party criticism and political re-education.
It had encouraged the party’s rank and file to report such “deviations” from the official line in appropriate committees for further inquiry and action.
Some CPI(M) insiders viewed Mr. Nagappan’s removal as district secretary in the context of the party’s recent “rectification” drive. Others said the replacement was natural since the CPI(M) had elevated Mr. Nagappan to the party’s State secretariat.
Mr. Joy represents the Varkala Assembly constituency. He is also a CPI(M) State committee member.
