In step now

Before the Central Committee meeting of the CPI(M) in Kochi, the state committee handed out a list of instructions for the comrades. The first order said that when General Secretary Prakash Karat spoke at the customary public rally, they all had to clap. Given the fight between Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and State Secretary Pinarai Vijayan, the state leaders wanted to put up a show of unity in front of the central leadership. The second instruction was quite stern — no one should come drunk to the meeting. Last year, during the party meet in Kottayam, drunken comrades created mayhem and this prompted Vijayan to compare the political rally with an “Usha Uthup show”. The state unit was eager not to have a repeat show.