Kannur: The Kannur district CPM is soon planning to reach out to its sulking cadres in Payyanur by explaining the party's stand at the branch level on the financial embezzlement charges to the tune of Rs 1 crore raised against a group of leaders under the Payyanur area committee, including MLA Madhusoodanan.
The new decision came close on the heels of the disciplinary action taken by the party against its leaders in connection with the controversy.
The meeting of the Payyanur area committee is taking place on Friday ahead of the convening of the branch committees in the coming days to brief the workers about the party's spending from the funds collected for the Assembly polls, for the family of martyr Dhanaraj and for the construction of the Payyanur area committee office building.
The party will also have to brief the branch committees about the disciplinary action taken by the party against leaders on the fund embezzlement issue.
A demand was raised within the party that the correct figures on the collection and expenditure of these funds should be tabled in the area committee. Friday's area committee meeting is the first one to be held after the reporting of the disciplinary action against leaders.
It is alleged that the CPM district leadership took on face value only the financial figures given by the tainted leaders. A section in the party alleges that this is the reason why the party leadership is maintaining that money has not been lost and the only lapse which was occurred is the failure in presenting the income and expenditure statement on time.
But they point out that the party district leadership did not take seriously the details of irregularities and misappropriation presented by the party area committee with documentary proof.
In addition, the district leadership took the view that a selfless party leader V Kunjikrishnan had breached the party discipline by collecting documents which exposed various financial irregularities committed by some of its leaders. Kunjikrishnan was also removed from the post of the party area committee secretary.
But, according to the party insiders, he had probed the embezzlement as per the knowledge and permission of the party district committee. The move against Kunjikrishnan has angered the ordinary party workers in the traditional CPM stronghold of Payyanur.
It is also alleged that the disciplinary action taken against tainted party leaders was not inconsistent with the gravity of the offences they had committed. Kunjikrishnan decided to keep away from politics in protest against the party's stand on the issue.
A majority of the members of the party area committee are understood to have held a copy of the real figures on fund spending. If the financial statement presented by the official group is inconsistent with these figures, the present conflict will further widen.
In the event of the official group taking a hard stand that the only lapse that occurred was a delay in the presentation of financial statement, there is every chance of workers making a big uproar. But the official faction is planning to take on this challenge head-on by brandishing the sword of discipline.
