The recent infighting in the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala has caused great concern among the Central leaders of both the CPI(M) and the CPI.
CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat and senior CPI leader A.B. Bardhan on Thursday discussed the matter and both the leaders have decided to issue directions to their parties’ Kerala leadership to sit together and settle the dispute. Meanwhile, the CPI general secretary D. Sudhakar Reddy asked his party’s Kerala state committee to restrain themselves from engaging in verbal spat with the CPI(M).
Speaking to this newspaper, Mr Karat admitted that there were some issues between the CPI(M) and the CPI in Kerala that needed to be sorted out. “The matter will be settled in Kerala,” he said.
“We have advised both the parties to stop the tussle and call a meeting of both the parties,” Mr Bardhan said.
Meanwhile, sources said that the CPI(M) Central leadership, like the party’s Kerala unit, was not happy about the way the CPI leaders in the state reacted to the recent allegations against the CPI(M) on its involvements in political murders.
However, they felt that the party should restrain and avoid anything that would cause a rift in the Left Front.
Mr Reddy, while admitting that there could be differences between the CPI and the CPI(M), said that the leaders should not let it go beyond a point.
“We have a matured leadership in Kerala. The issue will be sorted out. We have asked our Kerala state committee to keep restrain (on the matter),” he said.
The fissures between the CPI(M) and the CPI had come to the fore in Kerala since the CPI started “ostracising” the CPI(M) over the allegations against the latter on its involvement in political murders.