CLEANING HOUSE OR A PURGE?

It all started at the CPI(M) state committee meeting on Decem­ ber 22 that unanimously passed a ‘rectification charter’ aimed at weeding out “undesirable charac­ teristics” and elements within the party.

- Jeemon Jacob

The document, with a typical­ ly stone­faced title (‘Contemporary politics and the party’s immediate responsibilities in the organisa­ tional sector’), charts out a plan to, ostensibly, improve the quality of leaders and cadre. Explaining to the media, CPI(M) state secretary M.V. Govindan Master said, “Corrective steps will be taken and no one will be exempt. From the state secre­ tariat to the lowest unit of branch members, all party workers will be subject to an elaborate process of self-criticism and scrutiny."