CPI-M politburo meets over Vijayan affair

The Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M) politburo met in New Delhi to discuss the crisis in its Kerala unit after one of its leaders, Pinarayi Vijayan, was named in a corruption scandal.

The Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M) politburo met in New Delhi on Saturday to discuss the crisis in its Kerala unit after one of its leaders, Pinarayi Vijayan, was named in a corruption scandal.

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Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan has demanded the removal of Vijayan, his rival, from the post of state party general secretary.

Vijayan figures in a chargesheet framed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly wrongly awarding contracts to a Canadian company when he was the power minister.

The CPI-M has branded the charge against Vijayan politically motivated and declined to remove Vijayan from his party post. Both Achuthanandan and Vijayan are members of the politburo.

Achuthanandan arrived in New Delhi on Friday night and met senior leader Sitaram Yechury. On Saturday he met West Bengal party leaders Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Biman Bose.

Party sources told IANS that there was a divide in the politburo on the Vijayan affair.