The Left Democratic Front (LDF) State committee will meet on July 28 to take stock of the current political developments in the wake of a controversy triggered by a gold smuggling case and the political dimensions the case has gained during the past fortnight.
The meeting will gauge the impact of the row on the government’s image and the Opposition United Democratic Front’s (UDF) attempts to put the Chief Minister’s Office in the dock following the interrogation and suspension of M. Sivasankar, former Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, from service.
The CPI(M) State secretariat has pledged support to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his stance that the accused, irrespective of their stature, would not be spared, if found guilty. But the CPI has raised a veiled criticism against the IT Department and the system of engaging consultancies for executing projects.
KC(M) faction
Earlier, the CPI had expressed its reservations in opening parleys with the Kerala Congress (M) Jose K. Mani faction ousted from the UDF. With the gold smuggling case dominating the State’s political sphere and the Mani faction declaring that it prefers to face the local body polls alone, the issue might not be taken up at the meeting.
The accent would be on ironing out a strategy for cementing the unity among LDF allies for launching a combined onslaught against the UDF and the BJP.
Since the State Electoral Officer has informed the Central Election Commission about the hassles in conducting the Chavara and Kuttanad Assembly byelections, it would not figure at the meeting.
Preparations for local body elections, scheduled to be held in October, would be discussed.
Personal staff meet
The CPI(M) has decided to have a meeting of the personal staff of all Ministers of the party on July 23. Though this is being dubbed as a routine meeting, it has evoked curiosity against the backdrop of the present controversy. The Chief Minister and CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan are expected to address the meeting.
