TP murder: Achuthanandan’s letter bomb explodes within CPI-M

mangaloretoday.com/India Today

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 08: CPI-M veteran and opposition leader V S Achuthanandan’s letter to Oommen Chandy, supporting RMP leader KK Rema’s demand for a CBI probe into the alleged conspiracy hatched by top CPI-M leaders to murder her husband and RMP founder TP Chandrasekharan, has created a storm within the CPI-M. Achutanadan’s letter is viewed as a breach of party discipline by top leaders who are already entangled in lot of trouble apart from the Chandrasekharan murder.

CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said he has no comment on the stand taken by Achuthanandan. "Let him explain on what grounds he had taken this stand. Achuthanandan had earlier supported the resolution passed by CPI-M on January 26 criticizing Rema and RMP for demanding a CBI inquiry," said Pinarayi Vijayan in Pathanamthitta on Saturday morning. "Don’t make Achuthanandan a party to the conspiracy to destroy CPI-M," said a red faced Pinarayi Vijayan.

 

Meanwhile, the CPI-M Politburo released a statement on Saturday that it considers V S Achuthanandan’s letter to the Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on February 7, 2014, "a wrong step and not in conformity with the stand of the party". The statement was issued by Hari Singh Kang on behalf of the central committee of CPI-M.

Earlier on Saturday, CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat said that the party is against a CBI inquiry into the conspiracy angle in the T P Chandrasekharan murder case. "The available Politburo will discuss the matter today. We will discuss the matter in detail after getting the report of the state committee on Achuthanandan’s letter," said Prakash Karat in New Delhi on Saturday morning. Karat reiterated the party stand that the "judicial verdict has come and there is no need of another CBI inquiry."

 

The party never expected that Achuthanandan, who was banned by CPI-M state committee from visiting K K Rema at the venue of her hunger strike in Thiruvananthapuram, would drop a "letter bomb" that will put the party on the defensive. India Today learnt that the letter written by Achuthanandan was handed over to the CM by a messenger even without the knowledge of his private secretary or press secretary, at 11 am on Friday. K K Rema ended her fast at 1 pm on Friday after the government gave in-principle approval for a CBI inquiry into the case.

Achuthanandan’s letter has great significance as it clearly states that an investigation into the conspiracy angle in Chandrasekharan murder is necessary, as a gold smuggler’s link with the murderers was exposed through the CCTV visuals from Kozhikode jail. Smuggler T K Faiz, who is now in police custody, visited the murderers of T P Chandrasekharan, including the acquitted CPI-M leader P Mohanan. Achuthanandan, earlier too, justified KK Rema’s demand for CBI investigation into the conspiracy angle.

K K Rema’s complaint to the Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on January 10 mentions the comments made by CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan before and after the killing of her husband T P Chandrasekharan. Her complaint also talks about the comments of other prominent CPI-M leaders who publicly called for her husband’s killing, in the presence of other senior CPI-M leaders.

She alleged that the murder of her husband couldn’t have been executed without the connivance of top CPI-M leaders. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala had handed over this letter to the police and Edacheri police had registered a case on February 3. The police department then constituted a Special Investigation Team to investigate this case on Wednesday evening. After the preliminary investigation by the SIT, chances are that this case will be handed over to CBI.

India Today learnt that the SIT would investigate the case afresh. Chances are Rema’s statement will be recorded again by the police team.

Pinarayi Vijayan was shell shocked to hear that Achuthanandan had written a letter to Chandy seeking a probe into TP Chandrasekharan murder case. When the news broke out on Friday, he tried to dismiss it as the handiwork of Achuthanandan’s expelled personal staff members. A red-faced Pinarayi Vijayan was disarmed when media asked him about the letter while he was touring in Kottarakkara, leading the Kerala Raksha March.

But two hours later Achuthanandan cleared the confusion by stating that he had written a letter to the CM, seeking urgent intervention in K K Rema’s hunger strike. When asked whether the letter will amount to party indiscipline, Achuthanandan said that it up to the party to decide.

The letter is sure to create bigger trouble for CPI-M as there were several voices in support of KK Rema within the CPI-M and the new developments may promtp them to openly come out against the stand taken by the party state secretary. "Achutandan’s stand is the reflection of the mind of majority party workers within CPI-M," said K K Rema on Saturday.

As Lok Sabha elections are nearing, it is improbable that the CPI-M will take disciplinary action against V S Achutandan. India Today learnt that the CPI-M national leadership is also averse to taking a hasty decision on Achutandan’s letter, even though many leaders within CPI-M feel that Achutandan should be punished for his gross party indiscipline at the earliest.

The Congress-led UDF government had given in-principle approval for a CBI inquiry into the conspiracy angle in the TP Chandrasekharan murder case on Friday.