CPM state panel wants VS to toe party line

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPM state committee on Friday demanded senior party leader VS Achuthanandan to toe the party line, pulling him up for visiting expelled leader Berlin Kunhananthan Nair and for his stand on disciplinary action initiated against party workers in Kasargod.Twenty-seven of the 28 speakers at the state committee meeting urged Achuthanandan to toe the party line. They were of the opinion that Achuthanandan’s public postures on the two issues had shown the party in a bad light and armed the media with additional weapons to attack the party, sources said.  Only one member, from Kollam, spoke in support of Achuthanandan, criticising the party leadership, instead, for the controversies, it is understood.Achuthanandan’s visit to Kunhananthan Nair’s home had caused much heartburn to the party leadership and provided fodder for the media. The former Chief Minister also stepped on the leadership’s toes after he said that the party action against workers in Kasargod, who organised demonstrations in his favour, was improper.The state committee also discussed the guidelines approved by the party central committee for the conduct of organisational polls. From branch to state-level, factionalism and personal vendetta should not be factors determining the election of office-bearers, the committee noted.The committee also said that all office-bearers should strictly adhere to normsprescribed in the rectificationdocument.