The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Oommen Chandy flays Pinarayi’s remarks about NSS leaders

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 17, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Oommen Chandy flays Pinarayi’s remarks about NSS leaders

Special Correspondent

Chennithala says Achuthanandan will be ousted after CPI(M) State conference

Holds CPI(M), BJP responsible for political violence
Says CPI(M) should take lessons from Congress

Thiruvananthapuram: The Leader of the Opposition, Oommen Chandy, on Wednesday came down heavily on CPI(M) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan for the latter’s remarks on Nair Service Society (NSS) leaders.

Mr. Chandy termed it an attempt to threaten and insult prominent community and social leaders who were critical of the CPI(M)’s style of functioning.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Chandy alleged that the CPI(M) leaders’ attitude that they could attack anyone opposed to the party’s policies would not work in the State.

“CPI(M) leaders should realise that Kerala is not West Bengal. The enlightened society of Kerala would not approve of the attack on the NSS leaders,” he said.

The CPI (M) leaders do not spare the media, the courts and religious and community leaders,” he remarked. Mr. Chandy was referring to Mr. Vijayan’s remarks about the late NSS leader Mannath Padmanabhan’s role in the liberation struggle of 1957-59. The Leader of the Opposition said the struggle had the backing of the people.

The CPI(M) State secretary’s claim that the Communist rule had ushered in land reforms and educational reforms was false. The Land Reforms Act was passed by the subsequent Congress government, he said.

Referring to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that Kerala should follow the Gujarat model, Mr. Chandy said Modi’s model was not worth emulating in any part of the world.

Chennithala’s criticism

Staff Reporter in Kollam writes: Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Ramesh Chennithala has said that Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan will be ousted from that post soon after the State conference of the CPI(M) in Kottayam.

Inaugurating the C.M. Stephen commemoration meeting here on Wednesday, Mr. Chennithala said the statement made by CPI(M) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan here on Tuesday that “groupism within the CPI(M) will end with the Kottayam conference” was an indication of the things to come.

He said the ‘claptrap style’ being adopted by Mr. Pinarayi of late had only served to expose how inimical was that party towards its critics. Mr. Chennithala said that Mr. Pinarayi’s attempts to gag the people of the State would not work. He said, “this is Kerala and not West Bengal.”

Mr. Chennithala alleged that the CPI(M) and Mr. Vijayan appeared to have lost the political decorum and direction. Mr. Vijayan was unleashing diatribes not only against the judiciary but also against social reformers.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala

News Update

Stories in this Section