New Delhi: The Kerala Chief Minister, V S Achuthanandan, has yet again refused to toe his party's line, and has appeared to justify the Governor's nod to CBI to prosecute Pinarayi Vijayan in the Lavalin corruption scam.
"Governors have in the past in such instances given the nod and the Supreme Court has upheld this," said Achuthanandan.
This is the exact opposite of what his home minister K Balakrishnan said on Tuesday - that the Governor had overstepped his brief.
Meanwhile in Delhi, the CPM was very clear that they would not get drawn into any controversy with the Kerala C M, at least not yet.
"The politburo has already issued a statement and we are committed to taking up the case politically and legally,"said CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury.
And when asked if Achuthanandan was going against the party, he refused to make any comment.
So is the Kerala CM going the Somnath way? For now, any action seems unlikely. Though the divide has been simmering for sometime, and is seen as the reason behind the CPM's poor poll performance, sources say, a split at this time will cause much more damage, as Achutanandan is seen as a popular leader.
Constitutional experts also say that the Governor is well within his rights to go against the advice of the Cabinet, and the party may not have a very strong legal leg to stand on.
"In exceptional cases like this one, Governors can take such decisions. So the powers of the Governor - that issue is beyond dispute, and he can act on his own," said Constitutional expert P P Rao.
First it was Kerala government against the Governor, and now it seems it is the Chief Minister versus his Cabinet. Sources say Pinarayi Vijayan, the party chief, has more ministers on his side than the Chief Minister. The SNC Lavalin case has become a weapon in the hands of the two top comrades in Kerala to try and oust each other.