Thiruvananthapuram: CPI state council which concluded here on Friday criticised chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan accusing him of behaving like an ‘autocrat’ since he took charge in May 2016.
The CPI has asked the CPM leadership to take corrective measures in this regard. Reacting to CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan's criticism that during the last LDF meeting his CPI counterpart Kanam had warned the government against touching Tata land in Munnar, the CPI said that one must remember who backed the company in Singur, West Bengal.
Later at a press conference after the executive and state council meetings, CPI state secretary Kanam said he was not aware about the land encroached by Tata in Munnar. “I am not the person to talk about Tata encroachment. Even if there is one cent land which has been encroached it should be taken back,” he said.
The CPI leader said the Left had always fought against autocratic tendencies. He refuted reports that only a section of CPI leaders were behind the stand taken by party on Munnar and other issues.
“We made our stand clear on various issues including our differences with the stand taken by government on various issues only after CPM politburo member Prakash Karat made certain remarks in public about CPI. It was unanimous decision of the state leadership of the party to clarify our stand point by point publicly. There are no differences on these issues within the party,” he said.
He said the CPI was in favour of bringing a legislation on the lines of anti- land grab law in Andhra Pradesh to check encroachments in the state.
On the possibility of joint front with Congress he said the national leadership of CPI had spoken about a broader platform of left, secular and democratic parties. "We are not talking about any particular party. We are not discussing electoral understanding but a broader platform to fight the communal agenda of the BJP under Modi government,” he said.
