VS takes U-turn on murder case

With V S Achuthanandan doing a volte-face on his stance in connection with the T P Chandrasekharan murder case, the CPM and the opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala are optimistic ahead of the April 10 Lok Sabha election. 

But the veteran’s U-turn over an internal investigation on the party members’ involvement in the murder has also triggered criticism and speculation that he is mending fences with the party’s official faction after years of shadow battles.

The Leader of the Opposition had on Thursday pointed out to a television channel that the CPM had already expelled K C Ramachandran, a local party worker in Kozhikode, for his involvement in the murder of the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) leader. 

Ramachandran is one of the three CPM members who along with eight others were awarded life imprisonment in connection with the murder that happened in May 2012. Achuthanandan’s move comes after repeated statements by him that hinted at the party’s reluctance to initiate action against members involved in the case.