No change in my stand on Lavalin scam, says Achuthanandan

Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan today said that "there is no change" in his stand on the Rs 374 crore scam in which Communist Party of India-Marxist's state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan is an accused.

Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan on Sunday said that "there is no change" in his stand on the Rs 374-crore scam in which Communist Party of India-Marxist's(CPI-M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan is an accused.

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Achuthanandan, who was removed from the CPI-M's politburo by the central committee in a bid to end the bitter political infighting, has been demanding that Vijayan should step down as the party's top man in Kerala since he has been accused of wrongly awarding a contract to the Canadian company SNC Lavalin.

"I approve of the decision taken by the central committee," Achuthanandan told reporters in New Delhi before leaving for Kerala.

He, however, refused to comment whether he will continue as the chief minister after the rebuke by the party central committee.

Asked if he has anything to say to the people of Kerala, Achuthanandan replied: "Nothing."

Before leaving for Kerala, Vijayan along with Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, a CPI-M politburo member and state home minister, visited Achuthanandan in his suite at Kerala House.

The CPI-M's central committee, ending its two-day meeting here, said that Vijayan "was not involved in any corrupt practice whatsoever" and also reiterated the party's resolve to fight the corruption case against him "politically and legally".

Achuthanandan and Vijayan have been at loggerheads, with the chief minister insisting that Vijayan be removed as party state secretary after being named an accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Lavalin corruption case.

The Vijayan faction, in turn, has demanded that disciplinary action be taken against Achuthanandan for "violating party discipline".