Tomin J Thachankary has to go: CPM leader

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPM state secretariat member Anathalavattom Anandan hit out at KSRTC chairman and managing director Tomin J Thachankary at a meeting convened by KSRTC trade unions on Tuesday. At the meeting convened to protest Thachankary's style of functioning, he said the CPM will not demand the government to remove him but "he has to go out on his own".

The unions targeted Thachankary after he put an end to certain practices followed by them, including collection of funds from employees. Thachankary had also acted against the alleged 'dictatorship' of the unions in the corporation. "The state has a history of bringing down several administrators by resorting to strike. Thachankary might not have been born at that time. We will not demand the government to oust him. He will have to go on his own,'' said Anandan.

The CITU, the INTUC and the AITUC jointly launched the agitation against Thachankary, which was formally inaugurated by the CPM state secretariat member.

Thachankary had issued some strict instructions to curb the activities of the trade unions in the KSRTC, which were taking a toll on the functioning of the corporation. The move provoked the unions which subsequently decided to join hands to begin a campaign to remove him.

The main provocation for the unions was the decision of The unions declared Thachankary's decision to stop the collection of monthly union fees directly from the employees' salaries to be an unbearable provocation that must be met firmly.

As per an agreement reached between the unions and the bank, the monthly fees used to be deducted from the salaries of the employees and debited to the account of the unions. Thachankary had instructed the banks to put an end the practice.