The Kerala CPM has asked chief minister V S Achuthanandan to quit for his ?anti-party? stand on the SNC Lavalin case.
The state secretariat of the party which met on Friday demanded his resignation for refusing to tread the party line that the case against state party chief Pinarayi Vijayan was politically motivated.
Achuthanandan was the sole dissenter in the cabinet meeting on Wednesday to decide on the advocate general?s opinion that the government should not grant sanction to prosecute Vijayan. The secretariat?s decision will be communicated to the politburo, which will take the final decision.
Though it is not the first time that the Vijayan-controlled secretariat has spoken out against Achuthanandan, at Friday?s meeting no one stood up to defend the chief minister. His belligerence in the Cabinet embarrassed the party which had earlier taken a decision to accept the advocate general?s opinion.
The AG was entrusted to advice the Cabinet after the governor sought its opinion on the CBI request to sanction Vijayan?s prosecution.
In a bid to uphold his image as a crusader against corruption, Achuthanandan sought to reject the AG?s advice. He argued that the AG should be told to file a fresh report as he had summarily rejected the CBI charges against Vijayan. He even threatened to register his dissenting note, which would have landed the Cabinet in a crisis.
Disregarding objections from his cabinet colleagues ?from his own party and other Left parties?Achuthanandan even threatened to directly recommend Vijayan?s prosecution to the Governor. However, he finally succumbed to the collective decision of the Cabinet to accept the AG?s report.