ALAPPUZHA: Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Ramesh Chennithala held an in-camera discussion with Communist Party of India (CPI) State secretary Veliyam Bhargavan in Alappuzha on Friday.

The two are learnt to have met at Alappuzha Guesthouse on Friday afternoon. Both Mr. Bhargavan and Mr. Chennithala had their lunch at the guesthouse.

They are learnt to have held discussions for about 15 minutes. When Mr. Chennithala and Mr. Bhargavan spoke, CPI district secretary T. Purushothaman and the District Congress Committee (DCC) president C.R. Jayaprakash who were accompanying them waited outside the room.

Mr. Chennithala was here to inaugurate a convention of Alappuzha DCC and Mr. Bhargavan to take part in the CPI district committee meeting.

The discussion assumes significance in the context of the criticism aired by Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan against the late Chief minister C. Achutha Menon and the opposition of the CPI towards the entry of the Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran) into the Left Democratic Front (LDF).

Mr. Chennithala, when contacted, said the talk with Mr. Bhargavan did not have any political significance. ``We did not talk politics,'' he told The Hindu .

Mr. Chennithala, talking at a meet-the-press programme later, praised the CPI as a party with a realistic stand. Later talking to the media, Mr. Bhargavan said reports that the CPI may leave the LDF was the creation of the media. He also noted that those who wanted to help Mr. Karunakaran were those who wanted to ensure that the United Democratic Front (UDF) returned to power. He said

Mr. Karunakaran's words could not be believed, he added.

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