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Monday, Feb 09, 2009
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Party will not shield the corrupt: Pinarayi

Staff Reporter

Says ‘media syndicate’ out to malign CPI(M)
Criticises BJP for raking up Ram temple issue

KOZHIKODE: Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said here on Sunday that the party had a declared policy against corruption. It will not shield the corrupt. Even its tallest leaders would be ousted from the party if they are found guilty, he said.

The party State secretary was replying to questions on Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan’s reported statement in Kochi on Saturday that the corrupt would be brought to book, irrespective of party affiliations.

Mr. Vijayan alleged that a ‘media syndicate’ with vested interests was spreading propaganda aimed at maligning and destroying the party.

Balanandan’s letter

This syndicate, comprising people who had been expelled from the party, had ‘fabricated’ a letter purportedly written by the late CPI(M) leader E. Balanandan to the party general secretary on the SNC Lavalin agreement. “How can all senior journalists of different media think alike on the same issue?”

Asked whether the stance adopted by the Chief Minister and the party on the SNC Lavalin case had created confusion in the minds of the people, Mr. Vijayan replied: “That is a party issue.”

The CPI(M) leader criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for raising the Ram temple issue on the eve of the general elections. The BJP’s decision to hold its National Council meeting at the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Nagpur had exposed its intentions to garner votes by dividing people in the name of religion, he said.

Abduction case

Mr. Vijayan said the abduction of Manjeswaram MLA C.H. Kunhambu’s daughter from Mangalore revealed the communal influence the RSS had on the BJP government in Karnataka. The statements made by the BJP government justifying these acts had emboldened the anti-social elements to carry out further attacks. Now, the party has started a murmur campaign against the CPI (M) on the issue, he said.

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