India News | Criticising Party Leaders in Public 'not Acceptable', Against Norms, Says CPI's D Raja
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Criticising party leaders in public was "not acceptable" and against the norms, said CPI general secretary D Raja on Tuesday.
New Delhi, Oct 5 (PTI) Criticising party leaders in public was "not acceptable" and against the norms, said CPI general secretary D Raja on Tuesday.
His remark came after CPI Kerala secretary Kanam Rajendran publicly criticised D Raja and his wife Annie Raja a few weeks earlier.
Things had come to a boil when CPI National Executive Member Annie Raja criticised Kerala police.
Coming out against it, Rajendran had said such open criticism should be made after discussion with the party's state leadership after it appeared that Raja seconded his wife's opinion that the Kerala Police were "patently misogynist" and controlled by an "RSS gang".
At a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday after the CPI's three-day National Council meeting, D Raja said, "All of us are party leaders and the party has a set of norms and discipline. We have internal democracy where there is adequate opportunity for all members to raise issues and criticise."
"Criticising the general secretary or any leader of the party in public or the press is not acceptable. It is a wrong thing to do. Discipline has to be followed," he said.
According to sources, Rajendran reportedly faced criticism within the party after his public critique of the general secretary. Last week, he maintained that the party code applied to all members equally.
"Problem arises only when norms are violated. If it is not violated, then there is no problem. As a person who has read the (party) constitution, I adhere to discipline," Rajendran told reporters in Kerala on Tuesday.
Raja however maintained that national leaders of the CPI have the freedom to openly express opinions on issues such as crime against women and the functioning of the police.
"The party is the supreme power; no one is beyond party functioning. All members should be aware of the code of conduct of the party," he added.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)