The Communist Party of India (CPI) said on Wednesday that one of its topmost Kerala leaders KE Ismail will face party action for an interview he gave to a TV channel.
Ismail, former state minister and national executive member, has been dropped from the party's list of leaders who attend the Left Democratic Front (LDF) meetings and since he is a senior leader, the state unit has recommended further action be decided by the CPI's national leadership, said CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran.
In an interview to a TV channel a few days back, Ismail had said that the party had decided to boycott last week’s cabinet meeting in protest against Transport Minister Thomas Chandy attending it without broader consultations, which was contrary to the party line.
The CPI state leadership viewed the decision to skip the cabinet meet as a tactic which forced Thomas Chandy to quit and in this respect, Ismail’s remarks came as a blow.
The CPI's four ministers boycotted a cabinet meeting on November 15 to protest against Chandy's presence - an action that led to an uproar within the Left, with even Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressing his displeasure and terming it an unprecedented act. After attending the cabinet meeting, Thomas Chandy put in his papers.
Addressing reporters in Thiruvananthapuram after the meeting of the CPI executive, Kanam Rajendran said that the statement made by Ismail was not in tune with what the party had decided.
"Our party had made it very clear on the 12th of this month at the LDF meeting that Chandy should quit, but it was surprising that Chandy took part in the cabinet on the 15th. This was not what we had unanimously decided. From now on there will be only three CPI leaders who will attend the LDF meeting (instead of four as earlier including Ismail).”
"Today's meeting also decided to intimate to the national executive the displeasure of the state executive at the manner in which Ismail spoke," he said.
Kanam Rajendran's announcement has brought into the open that Kanam and Ismail have been at loggerheads for a while.
Incidentally, Pinarayi and Ismail have a good relation.
(With IANS inputs)