CPI(M) accuses Satheesan of concentrating authority in a ‘shadowy power group’ centred around the CMO

M.V. Govindan | Photo Credit: RK Nithin

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] on Tuesday accused Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan of concentrating decision-making authority in an “opaque power group” centred around the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO). 

CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan told a press conference that Mr. Satheesan had significantly undermined the constitutional principle of the Council of Ministers’ collective responsibility by concentrating power in a “shadowy coterie representing questionable private interests”. 

Mr. Govindan alleged that Mr. Satheesan’s “autocratic style of functioning” had whittled down the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government’s accountability to the legislature on policy and key decisions, including power purchase agreements with “profit-motivated and predatory” private sector entities.