THIRUVANANTHAPURAM (KERALA): Veteran leader V S Achuthanandan’s amazing shift to an open war by raking up Pinarayi Vijayan’s ‘renegade and traitor’ remarks against slain RMP leader T P Chandrasekharan has left the party in a piquant situation as never before. Both political pundits and the public are keenly watching what will be the next moves of the veteran leader and the party. That VS has struck at a crucial time when the CPM is facing a tough bypoll battle in Neyyatinkara is all the more important. It is significant that he has taken the fight to the very fortress of the Kannur lobby, which decides the course of the CPM in the state, by raking up the sensitive issue of the expulsion of the Onchiyam comrades. By championing the cause of the Onchiyam warriors, VS has obliterated whatever memories were left on his tantalising stance or rather silence over the expulsion of his erstwhile faction leaders in the party. With Saturday’s open war cry, he has rekindled the embers of factional feuds which had been ruthlessly crushed under the iron fist of the official (Pinarayi Vijayan) leadership so far. At his news conference on Saturday, VS had taken sufficient care to be selective in juxtaposing a painful yet continuously thought-provoking situation like the split of 1964 in the party. He recalled the revisionist and autocratic tendencies of Chairman S A Dange and equated him with Pinarayi Vijayan on the issue of expulsion of Chandrasekharan and other comrades in Onchiyam area from the party. Contrary to his characteristic body language and gestures, VS remained calm and unprovoked but very determined throughout the conference. On whether his statements will be construed as a breach of party discipline, VS said that those were matters which would be decided through discussions and maintained that he didn’t mind any disciplinary action. His equating the 1964 Communist divide, while reiterating that he is striving hard to correct the wrong policies in the party, was a reminder to the leadership. The fact that Pinarayi Vijayan was forced to tread cautiously later on the political offensive, has underscored that VS may be cut to size organisationally. Notably, Vijayan also said that `attacks against the party had begun’ and requested leaders to maintain vigil and urged to focus on the Neyyatinkara bypoll. The central leadership also refrained from making any instant comments and chose to go slow. The days ahead will be quite stormy for both VS and the CPM.
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