Thrissur: Communist Party of India-Marxists (CPM) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday harshly criticized the party's Kerala unit while responding to its stance against his proposal for ties with the Congress.
Clarifying that he had never called for an alliance with the Congress, Yechury said he only proposed that the party should go for some tactical approach during the polls. He said what the party state meet discussed was not his stance, Manorama News reported.
Yechury said the Congress was the CPM's main rival only in Kerala.
"CPM does not mean that Communist Party of Kerala Marxist. The party does not take its decisions based on the circumstances in one state," he said, speaking at the party state meet here.
Calling out the names of A N Shamseer and Muhammed Riyas, Yechury said the comrades in Kerala have to learn the party program once again. The two young leaders were vocal in criticizing the party chief's stance.
The common feeling emerged during a discussion in the CPM state meet was that there was no need for any kind of tie-up with the Congress. The discussion concluded that a policy at the national level could be taken only after considering the situation in Kerala where the party is in a strong position and has Congress as the main contender. It was proposed that the CPM should lead an alliance with regional parties against communal fronts.
Earlier, during the central committee and politburo meetings the Kerala unit of the party had stood with the proposal put forth by former party general secretary Prakash Karat, challenging Yechury's stance.