Politburo member VS Achuthanandan refused to defend his colleague Pinarayi Vijayan, involved in a multi-crore scandal.
A day after CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said in New Delhi that all was well within the party, politburo member VS Achuthanandan refused to defend his colleague Pinarayi Vijayan, involved in a multi-crore scandal probed by the CBI.
The Kerala chief minister said on Sunday that his “fight against corruption would continue”.
The politburo meeting on Saturday patched up a temporary truce between two of its members, but Achuthanandan remains defiant.
The politburo was not sympathetic to Achuthanandan’s stand on the CBI case. But it also did not side with the party secretary to corner the chief minister. The patch-up is likely to last till the general elections.
While Karat unequivocally declared the party’s support to Vijayan sought by the CBI to be arraigned in the SNC-Lavalin case, Achuthanandan said would fulfil his constitutional obligations — an indirect reference to the request pending before the state government for permission to prosecute Vijayan.
The chief minister reminded the waiting journalists of his previous crusades against corruption, citing three high-profile cases targeting leaders of the Congress and its allies.
The former electricity minister, under CBI scanner for a contract he awarded to Canadian firm SNC-Lavalin to revamp three hydro-electric plants in 1996, said: “The Comptroller and Auditor General report doesn’t give a complete picture. When it audited, the production was low because there was no water. CAG doesn’t look at these things. Production increased in the subsequent years.”
Achuthanandan, meanwhile, will continue his battle, if his statement in Delhi is any indication. He may give a breather to the politburo by delaying the permission to prosecute Vijayan. He is in no hurry as the Kerala high court has told the government to decide on the CBI’s request within three months. So, the party can go to polls with a façade of unity and camaraderie.
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