Why CPIM Not On INDIA Coordination Panel? Kerala Chief Minister Explains

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday justified the CPI(M) not sending a representative to the INDIA coordination committee and said the Left party opposed the idea of it becoming an organisation.

He said the decision not to be a part of the coordination committee was not taken now but much earlier.

Addressing a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram, the Left veteran also said the party's Polit Bureau and the Central Committee had held discussions on this earlier and decided on it.

"We accepted that there could be a platform or forum but opposed the idea of it becoming an organisation. That is why when they decided to set up a coordination committee - which is an organisational set-up- we opposed it," Mr Vijayan said.

Responding to a question on Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan's allegation that the CPI(M) central leadership decided against sending a representative solely due to the insistence of the party's Kerala leaders due to an unholy nexus with the BJP, the Chief Minister said the opposition leader suffers from "such issues" sometimes.

"His conclusions sometimes go terribly wrong," Mr Vijayan said with a smile.

The Chief Minister also said anyone with a basic understanding of politics knows how CPI(M) works as a party.

"CPI(M) is not a party where either an individual or a state can force it to reach a particular decision. It is only the collective decision of CPI(M) that comes out," he added.

He also said that INDIA, as a platform, needed to be discussed only among senior leaders of political parties and in such discussions senior leaders of the CPI(M) would also participate.

"We are not against that," Vijayan added. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)