The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] has removed P.K. Anil Kumar from the post of general secretary of the Kerala Petroleum and Gas Workers’ Union, affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), following a probe into the purchase of a high-end luxury car for his son.
The district committee meeting, attended by party State secretary M.V. Govindan, acted against Mr. Kumar for not informing the party prior to purchasing the vehicle. His argument that it was bought by his wife, employed in an oil firm, did not cut ice with the party leadership.
Mr. Kumar rose to the leadership of the union when T. Raghuvaran was ousted from the CPI(M) for anti-party activities. A senior leader said the party had time and again insisted that its workers lead a simple life sans luxury.
The district committee also decided that C.N. Mohanan, district secretary of the CPI(M), would step down as president of the workers’ union, which now has a membership of over 3,500 workers.
P.V. Sreenijin, party MLA, would step down from his post of president of the District Sports Council. It was a position he assumed before becoming a legislator. Recently, he had a run-in with the Kerala Sports Council over its agreement with football club Kerala Blasters, which Mr. Sreenijin maintained had defaulted on payments.
The district committee also considered the report of the A.K. Balan and T.P. Ramakrishnan Commission which probed the party’s failure in the Thrikkakara by-election and accepted the recommendation that the party should be strengthened in the constituency, which it had never won. The candidate for the by-election was chosen by the State central unit without the concurrence of the district committee and the constituency committee. The commission has recorded the district leadership’s contention that the decision to introduce him at a church-owned hospital was ill-advised.
E.P. Jayarajan, LDF convenor who spearheaded the Left campaign in Thrikkakara, did not respond to the commission, but no action was recommended against him.
