Kozhikode: While CPM infighting in the Malabar region triggered off by the suspension of former Koyilandy area committee secretary N.V. Balakrishnan took a new turn with more and more party members adorning key positions in administrative bodies opting to resign from their posts, the party district committee has started conciliatory steps to snuff out the fuming rebellion in the region.
It is to be recalled that after the Onchiyam rebellion led by slain RMP chief T.P. Chandrasekharan, this is the major rebellion the party is facing in the region. Koyilandy municipal chairperson K.Santha, wife of Balakrishnan, had resigned from the post on Saturday.
Anticipating trouble, the LDF constituency convention which was scheduled to be held on Sunday has been postponed indefinitely. C.Hareendran, CPM Keezhariyoor panchayat president who reportedly submitted his resignation on Sunday withdrew it later following conciliatory talks by the CPM leadership.
Koyilandy MLA K. Dasan and Kozhikode MLA A. Pradeepkumar are leading the conciliatory talks between the rebel and official factions. Though the mediators promised to reduce the suspension period of Balakrishnan from one year to six months, Balakrishnan’s supporters demanded that the suspension period be reduced to three months and action be initiated against K.K. Muhammed, present area secretary, against whom corruption charges were raised with party workers providing proof at various forums.
Meanwhile, CPM district secretariat in a press statement on Sunday said that a section of the media had been creating confusion among party workers and the public, misinterpreting the action against Balakrishnan. “The reason for the action was the anti-party content of three articles by Balakrishnan in 4PM News, an eveninger published from Bahrain, criticizing party policies and organizational principles.
“The party had sought an explanation from Balakrishnan who duly accepted his mistake and expressed regrets”, the release said.
The decision to suspend him for one year was taken by the area committee unanimously, the release claimed, adding that the party member had every right to approach the higher-level committee if he felt the action was wrong.
