The move by the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-controlled Initiative for Rehabilitation of Palliative Care (IRPC) to convert the district council office of the Communist Marxist Party (CMP) into its own office has drawn criticism from the UDF.
After the split in the CMP in 2014, the CMP district council office here had been controlled by the faction led by party leader K.R. Aravindakshan, which subsequently merged with the CPI(M). The CMP faction led by C.P. John is in the UDF.
A few days ago, a board of the IRPC, a palliative care initiative spearheaded by former CPI(M) district secretary P. Jayarajan, appeared in the office building.
The ownership of the building has been under legal dispute since 2014 when the Aravindakshan faction captured it with the support of the CPI(M).
Contempt of court
According to the CMP leadership here, the IRPC committed contempt of court by capturing a building that was under legal dispute. The Congress also condemned the move.
District Congress Committee president Satheeshan Pacheni said in a press release that as per a Supreme Court order, the faction of a political party that had merged with another party did not have any right over the properties of the party they belonged to earlier. The IRPC’s move was an act of hooliganism by the CPI(M) leadership, he said calling on the district administration to intervene in the matter.