CPI(M) veteran VS Achuthanandan questions appointment of Gita Gopinath as advisor to Kerala CM

CPI(M) veteran VS Achuthanandan has questioned the appointment of Harvard Professor Gita Gopinath as economic advisor to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, holding that 'her neo liberal views are contrary to Left ideology' even as the state leadership defended the decison.

92-year-old Achuthanandan in a letter to the CPI(M) central leadership asked how Gopinath, who is a supporter of the new-liberal market economy, had become the economic advisor of a CPI(M) Chief Minister. People had voted the CPI(M)-led LDF government to power with the expectation that the new government would provide a Left alternative to neo liberal economic polices pursued by the previous Congress-led UDF, the former Chief Minister pointed out.

Gopinath was a economist who supports the policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. How can such an economist become financial advisor to LDF Chief Minister, he asked. The CPI(M) veteran also wanted the party central leadership to discuss the issue and clear the air, sources said.

Meanwhile, CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan defended Vijayan for the appointment and said it was with the consent of the party state secretariat.

"She was appointed as advisor after discussing in party state secretariat. No advisors would be appointed without the consent of the party," Balakrishnan said in Kochi.

The government can utilise the expertise of Gita Gopinath in getting foreign funding and World Bank aid for development of the state, Balakrishnan added. The appointment of Gita Gopinath had triggered a row with Congress and BJP in the state hitting out at the Chief Minister for the decision.