Choose party or ethics: CPM to tell Kerala CM

New Delhi: The Communist Party of India-Marxist may sack Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan if he refuses to toe the party line on a 12-year old scam in which a senior CPI-M leader is named as the accused.

CPI-M’s Kerala secretary Pinarayi Vijayan is accused of illegally favouring awarding contracts to renovate two hydro-power projects to Canadian company SNC Lavalin 12 years ago when he was the state’s power minister. The multi-crore scam case is currently being heard by the Kerala High Court.

The CPI-M alleges that the case against Vijayan is politically motivated, but Achuthanandan is adamant that action must be taken against him and not doing so would be unconstitutional.

Achuthanandan and Vijayan are long-time rivals and the two most important CPI-M leaders in Kerala.

Sources tell CNN-IBN the party would ask Achuthanandan to fall in line when its politburo meets on February 14. Media reports in Kerala say Achuthanandan has told the politburo that Vijayan should be sacked to prevent embarrassment for cost it dearly in Lok Sabha polls.

Achuthanandan is the second senior leader after Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, to come under fire from the party for putting their constitutional duty above the party's interests.

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