<p>The whistleblower site revealed that a cable allegedly sent to Washington by the US consulate in Chennai a few years back quoted IUML leader M K Muneer as having said that party leaders like P K Kunhalikutty "shielded" NDF activists to secure "selfish" interests.<br /><br />Muneer and Kunhalikutty, both members in the Congress-led UDF Cabinet now, stoutly refuted the charge, holding that the party leaders never had differences on its firm stand against extremist outfits.<br /><br />Media reports on the cables quoted IUML leader M K Munner as allegedly saying NDF may not have developed connections with major extremist outfits like al-Qaeda but is run by former SIMI activists.<br /><br />The cable quoted Muneer as having alleged, "NDF has been infiltrating into IUML despite the party decision in 1999 to resist such moves. He (Muneer) blamed IUML leaders such as P K Kunhalikutty for 'shielding the NDF for the leaders' own selfish interests."<br /><br />Reacting to the development, Muneer said, "This is totally baseless and I completely refute it. There is no division in the party. We have no reason to brief the US officials about our party affairs."<br /><br />Kunhalikutty said IUML did not take the WikiLeaks revelation seriously and has always taken a firm stand against extremism. <br /><br />A diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks had said Kerala CPI(M) leaders, including former Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, had met US officials and discussed foreign investment possibilities when the party was in power in the state.<br /><br />While admitting they had met US officials, CPI(M) leaders, however, said they did not compromise the party's stand on foreign investment.<br /><br />"We have not invited the US officials. They met us. There was no special agenda when the meeting took place," Vijayan said on the issue.<br /><br />Adding another dimension to the issue, another cable quoted former MD of pro-CPI(M) channel Kairali as having told US officials that Achuthanandan (who was Chief Minister at the time) was a stumbling block in the way of the state's development.<br /><br />John Brittas, who quit the pro-CPI(M) channel a few months back, said he did not say that Achuthanandan was a hurdle for development.<br /><br />He said he had only told the US officials that this sort of an impression was sought to be created by the media about the LDF government</p>
<p>The whistleblower site revealed that a cable allegedly sent to Washington by the US consulate in Chennai a few years back quoted IUML leader M K Muneer as having said that party leaders like P K Kunhalikutty "shielded" NDF activists to secure "selfish" interests.<br /><br />Muneer and Kunhalikutty, both members in the Congress-led UDF Cabinet now, stoutly refuted the charge, holding that the party leaders never had differences on its firm stand against extremist outfits.<br /><br />Media reports on the cables quoted IUML leader M K Munner as allegedly saying NDF may not have developed connections with major extremist outfits like al-Qaeda but is run by former SIMI activists.<br /><br />The cable quoted Muneer as having alleged, "NDF has been infiltrating into IUML despite the party decision in 1999 to resist such moves. He (Muneer) blamed IUML leaders such as P K Kunhalikutty for 'shielding the NDF for the leaders' own selfish interests."<br /><br />Reacting to the development, Muneer said, "This is totally baseless and I completely refute it. There is no division in the party. We have no reason to brief the US officials about our party affairs."<br /><br />Kunhalikutty said IUML did not take the WikiLeaks revelation seriously and has always taken a firm stand against extremism. <br /><br />A diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks had said Kerala CPI(M) leaders, including former Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, had met US officials and discussed foreign investment possibilities when the party was in power in the state.<br /><br />While admitting they had met US officials, CPI(M) leaders, however, said they did not compromise the party's stand on foreign investment.<br /><br />"We have not invited the US officials. They met us. There was no special agenda when the meeting took place," Vijayan said on the issue.<br /><br />Adding another dimension to the issue, another cable quoted former MD of pro-CPI(M) channel Kairali as having told US officials that Achuthanandan (who was Chief Minister at the time) was a stumbling block in the way of the state's development.<br /><br />John Brittas, who quit the pro-CPI(M) channel a few months back, said he did not say that Achuthanandan was a hurdle for development.<br /><br />He said he had only told the US officials that this sort of an impression was sought to be created by the media about the LDF government</p>