CPI(M) gains full control of CITU

By C. Gouridasan Nair

ALAPPUZHA, DEC. 1. With the CITU die-hards taking a last- minute decision not to force a showdown, the CPI(M) Central Committee member, Mr. P.K. Gurudasan, was unanimously elected general secretary of the State CITU here today.

The outgoing general secretary, Mr. K.N. Ravindranath, has been accommodated as the State CITU president. However, in an act of defiance, the outgoing president, Mr. C. Kannan, has rejected the vice-president post offered to him and slammed the whole election exercise ``undemocratic'' and ``imposition of the will of the party on the CITU''.

The number of office-bearers and the size of the CITU State committee have been increased. There are nine new faces among the office-bearers and the State committee's size has been raised from 131 to 139. The conference, the proceedings of which was marked by high tension owing to the sharp division over the changes mooted by the CPI(M) State leadership, drew to a close with a massive rally this evening.

The conference did not witness a showdown over the election of new office-bearers because of Mr. Kannan, who refused to buy the argument that a contest is essential to defend the principle of trade union democracy. Till late last night, the CITU loyalists were determined to force a showdown. However, Mr. Kannan cautioned them that going to such extremes would result in their being wiped out by the numerically stronger pro-party delegates. Though demoralised with today's developments, the CITU wing expressed happiness that the pro-party section did not succeed in getting rid of Mr. Ravindranath and hoped that Mr. Kannan's refusal to become the State vice-president would leave its mark in the minds of the cadres. The original decision of the party leadership was to oust Mr. Ravindranath from the helm of the CITU. It had to relent following strong opposition from its own ranks and decide to make Mr. Ravindranath as the president. But that has only resulted in Mr. Kannan feeling slighted and opting out of the top rung of the CITU, they pointed out.

Mr. Kannan's name was, in fact, proposed by a delegate from Ernakulam, Mr. K.V.S. Iyer, for the post of general secretary. The proposal was supported by Mr. M. Rajan, from Kollam. The atmosphere in the conference venue became tense with this unexpected development and many felt that a contest was in the offing. However, Mr. Kannan, who was conducting the proceedings, declared that he did not wish to contest for the post. That eased the tension. Subsequently, when his name came up as part of the official panel, Mr. Kannan once again rose to decline the post.

Later, talking to reporters, he said the whole exercise was undemocratic. The party, he said, had decided everything and all that the conference did was to endorse the decisions. He was not told why he was being removed as president. Instead of asking him to vacate, the party had unilaterally decided to remove him. The CITU national leadership did not interfere in the matter as it was clear from the outset that everything had been decided elsewhere and no advice to the contrary would find acceptance, Mr. Kannan explained. The CITU national general secretary, Dr. M.K. Pandhe, rejected the suggestion that the CPI(M) had imposed its decision on the CITU conference, but went to the extent of conceding that the party did make a proposal as to who should head the organisation in the coming years. The delegates, he said, were free to accept or reject it. The choice of office- bearers showed that they have chosen to accept the party proposal. ``All's well that ends well,'' he said.

The CITU national president, Mr. E. Balanandan, said though there may have been differences of opinion in the minds of some, nothing was on view at the conference. The election of new office-bearers, he said, was unanimous and argued that there was nothing wrong in office-bearers being removed. ``People who have the right to elect also have the right to remove and this can happen to me as well if the delegates to the Hyderabad national conference of the CITU feel that Balanandan is old and not fit to remain as president,'' he said.

The new CITU State general secretary said the election was absolutely democratic and asserted that the CITU would continue to be an independent democratic organisation. He termed as baseless the contention that the conference had only implemented the CPI(M) State committee decision and the allegation that Mr. Kannan had been eased out of the helm of the State CITU. Mr. Kannan would continue to be a member of the CITU State committee and had opted out only because he did not wish to hold any other post after being president for so long, Mr. Gurudasan said.

Mr. Ravindranath parried all questions on the election and said the contention that the conference had only approved what had already been decided by the CPI(M) State leadership was a matter of interpretation. He conceded that the CITU had all the strengths and weaknesses of a democratic organisation, but expressed confidence that the organisation would be able to move ahead rectifying its shortcomings.

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