M M Mani remains elusive

THODUPUZHA: CPM Idukki secretary M M Mani remained elusive on Wednesday even as party sources said that the government was making attempts to arrest him before June 2.According to Mani’s relatives, he had left the house saying that he was going for a party meeting. Mani’s mobile phone was switched off, so was his driver’s. Mani was flooded with calls from scribes across the country and was struggling to respond to their queries in Hindi and English, the sources said. There were unconfirmed reports that he was not in the district and had shifted to an undisclosed destination.The party sources said that Mani was in Idukki itself, but not at his house. However, they did not reveal where he was and when he would appear in public.Mani’s disappearance is in the wake of unconfirmed reports that the police were planning to arrest him before   the Neyyatinkara byelection.Earlier, when the police registered an FIR against him, Mani had said that he would fully cooperate with them.According to the party sources, the government is bent on arresting Mani at the earliest.The UDF using the Chandrasekharan murder issue in the Neyyatinkara election is an example of it, sources said.The national and state leaders of the party are discussing how to deal with a likely police action on Mani.The party is planning to hold the district secretariat and district committee meet on June 3 in Idukki to discuss the issue.