CPM censures VS for defying party on N-plant

The CPI (M) on Sunday censured its Kerala veteran VS Achuthanandan for breaking with the party line and supporting the anti-Kudankulam nuclear project agitation, HT reports.

The CPI (M) on Sunday censured its Kerala veteran VS Achuthanandan for breaking with the party line and supporting the anti-Kudankulam nuclear project agitation.

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“The central committee rejects his views. It censures him (Achuthanandan) for his refusal to abide by the stand which was worked out at the party congress,” a CPI(M) central committee statement said.

The three-day meet of the central committee also directed the Kerala leader to adopt the party’s position.

“In the case of the Kudankulam reactors, the resolution has made an exception as the agreement for these reactors were signed two decades before the Indo-US nuclear deal, at a time when the US and other western countries had imposed sanctions on India,” the party statement said.

It said two reactors from Russia have been constructed at a considerable cost and they are at the final stage.

It, however, added a caveat in view of massive protests against the project over security apprehensions.

“However, the resolution has stressed that given the local people's apprehensions about their safety and livelihood after the Fukushima accident in Japan, these concerns should be met. There should be an independent safety audit and necessary safety measures must be put in place before the reactors are commissioned,” the CPI(M) said.