A member of the first communist ministry and a woman leader who devoted her life to the party for over 40 years, Gowri Amma was summarily expelled from the party in 1994 for anti-party activities.
In many ways, the CPM Central Committee’s (CC) decision on Sunday to drop its senior-most leader in Kerala, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, from the politburo (PB) for gross indiscipline is a mild let-off. It is a departure from the cadre party’s tradition of quelling indiscipline with an iron hand and reveals its own post-poll predicament in Kerala and West Bengal.
The CPM has assessed that Achuthanandan’s public statements on various issues, including the SNC Lavalin case, had challenged the party stand. These had confused CPM cadres and also helped the UDF campaign against it in the Lok Sabha elections. None disputes the fact that this is a serious breach of organisational principles. While his demotion from the PB was a foregone conclusion, many were even expecting his removal from the CC.
This would have made it impossible for him to continue as chief minister. However, the party is seized of his popularity as a crusader against corruption and its own predicament in protecting party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan whom it believes has not indulged in corruption in the Lavalin case.
By allowing Achuthanandan to continue as a CC member and as chief minister, the party has tried to limit the damage that his exit would have caused to it at this juncture. Yet, if there is a clear warning in his demotion, it is this: “one more time, and you are out.”
Achuthanandan has refused to divulge his mind on his future course of action as he has been demoted to be behind Vijayan and even Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan who is also a PB member.
This is not the first time that the CPM has waved the mantle of discipline against Achuthanandan. During the Sino-Indian war in 1962, he was with the nationalists in the party, supporting the Indian side. He was demoted in the party rank when he participated in a blood donation camp to help Indian soldiers. In May 2007, the CPM suspended him and Vijayan from the politburo for their mutual mudslinging in public. The CC, which approved the politburo’s decision to suspend them, later revoked the same.
DH News Service