Left’s Last Titan: VS Achuthanandan, a ‘comrade with anti-party mindset’
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Left’s Last Titan: VS Achuthanandan, a ‘comrade with anti-party mindset’")
File photo of former Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan Photograph: (PTI)
VS Achuthanandan was seen as a leader of the masses and stuck to his stance even at the cost of opposing the party. The most drastic disciplinary action taken against him by the party was a resolution that termed him a ‘comrade with an anti-party mindset.
Former Kerala Chief Minister and one of the titans of the Communist movement in India, VS Achuthanandan, passed away at a private hospital on Monday at the age of 101. One of the founding leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), VS Achuthanandan was the last of the 32 leaders who walked out of the historical CPI national council meeting in 1964 to form the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He started his career in politics as a trade unionist and was part of the CPM’s most popular leader in the state. Achuthanandan had withdrawn from public life after he suffered a minor stroke in 2019.
VS, as he was commonly referred to, had a difficult childhood after losing his mother at the age of four. He started his political life as a trade union activist, became a member of the Travancore State Congress, and then became a member of the Communist Party.
VS also took part in the country’s freedom struggle and was imprisoned many times.
In 1957, he became the CPI state secretariat member and faced opposition and criticism for raising his voice against corrupt practices of fellow leaders. In 1962, during the China-Indian war, he was demoted within the party for supporting blood donation camps for Indian soldiers.
He served as CPM state secretary from 1980 to 1992 and a Politburo member for almost three decades since 1985.
He was elected to the state Assembly in 1967, 1970, 1991, 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016 and was the party’s most popular leader among the masses.
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He is survived by his wife K Vasumathy and two children VA Arunkumar and VV Asha.
‘Comrade with anti-party mindset’
VS was seen as a leader of the masses and stuck to his stance even at the cost of opposing the party.
The most drastic disciplinary action taken against him by the party was a resolution that termed him a ‘comrade with an anti-party mindset. The declaration was made in front of the media by his bête noire Pinarayi Vijayan.
‘Kerala’s Fidel Castro’
He was one of the biggest crowd pullers of all time in Kerala, as his speeches were sharp and incisive against corruption and injustice. Besides, his unique slang gave an additional punch to his speeches.
Achuthanandan’s strong position against corruption and anti-ecological activities was reflected in his Munnar operation against illegal constructions and encroachments in the ecologically fragile popular hill station and the encroachments on Mathikettan forest land. He set up a three-member task force of IAS-IPS officers to lead the Munnar operations which resulted in the demolition of hotels, resorts constructed illegally on encroached lands.