CPM area secretary Mullassery to quit party, in talks with others
Mullassery cleared his political stance a day after he walked out of the party’s area conference in Mangalapuram in Thiruvananthapuram district voicing allegations of encouraging factionalism by party district secretary V Joy
CPI(M) area secretary Madhu Mullassery reiterated his intention to leave the party on Monday, signalling that doors were open for him to either join the Congress or the BJP where he could continue his political activities.
Mullassery cleared his political stance a day after he walked out of the party’s area conference in Mangalapuram in Thiruvananthapuram district voicing allegations of encouraging factionalism by party district secretary V Joy. Mullassery, who had served two terms as the Mangalapuram area secretary, was expected to get a third term, but was denied the post.
The CPI(M) is also expected to expel Mullassery from the outfit especially after he continued to raise allegations against Joy and publicly stated that he was ready to join a different party. The district committee will likely to recommend his expulsion to the state committee, people familiar with the matter said.
“The Mangalapuram area committee is relatively new. Shouldn’t the committee’s performance be evaluated in a transparent manner? It is one of the best performing committees in the district. The district secretary tried to overrule all of these (positive) actions by standing alongside those who are spewing lies and encouraging factionalism. Several party leaders, panchayat presidents and ordinary party workers are with me. When I decide to join another party, they will come with me,” Mullassery told reporters.
In response, senior CPI(M) leader Kadakampally Surendran said, “Let him (Mullassery) go wherever he wants. His criticisms against Joy are misplaced. The party will take stern action.”
This comes amid the CPI(M)’s conferences at the grassroots level as part of a routine organisational shake-up where pertinent subjects are discussed and debated in internal forums, new activities taken up ahead of the party congress in Madurai next year and leadership changes being put into places.
Over the last couple of weeks, issues of factionalism and internal rebellions have come to the fore at such party conferences in places like Karunagapally, Thiruvalla, Kozhinjambara and Payyannur. The Karunagappally area committee was disbanded over the weekend after fistfights and scuffles were reported at one of the local committee conferences under it over issues of factionalism.
