T’puram: CPM former central committee member A K Balan justified chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan‘s scathing criticism of former CPM leader G Sudhakaran, who is contesting the election from Ambalappuzha seat as an independent candidate with UDF support. Balan said that by referring to Sudhakaran’s act as ‘chettatharam’ (meanness), Vijayan must have meant that the former CPM stalwart’s actions were mean and below expectations.Addressing reporters, Balan said that Sudhakaran cheated CPM, of which he was a part for quite a long time, and which gave him opportunities that he deserved. Balan recalled how Sudhakaran’s brother and SFI activist Bhuvanachandran was murdered by KSU workers at Pandalam NSS College on Dec 7, 1977. “Despite having such an experience, how could Sudhakaran now contest an election in Alappuzha with Congress support?” he asked. The chief minister’s remarks about Sudhakaran came during a television news interview. Sudhakaran, on the other hand, said the word ‘chetta’ meant one who lives in a hut made of palm leaves. Such a hut being the abode of the working class, he did not feel offended by the reference made by the CM, Sudhakaran said. “CM doesn’t refer to a dictionary and is hence unaware of the real meaning of several words,” he added.
