Thiruvananthapuram, April 22 (Inditop) Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan’s differences with Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan were out in the open again Wednesday.
Achuthanandan criticised Pinarayi who had promised to induct a Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) legislator in the state cabinet. The JD-S, until recently an ally of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), quit the coalition after its state president was denied the Kozhikode Lok Sabha seat by the CPI-M.
“The party secretary is not the person who decides on such (cabinet) issues. It is the allies and the LDF that decide on such issues,” Achuthanandan told reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting.
The chief minister also played down the differences with the JD-S. “Yes, prior to the elections there were issues with the JD-S and we are working on it.”
Vijayan earlier this month at the height of the feud within the coalition had said the JD-S will be included in the cabinet after the elections.
The lone JD-S minister in the LDF cabinet was Mathew T. Thomas, the transport minister. He quit last month after the CPI-M refused to re-nominate JD-S state president M.P. Veerendra Kumar from Kozhikode.
The JD-S’ state unit is itself in trouble. One of its sections wants to remain with the LDF.
rounak