Will establish good rapport with CPM: Panniyan

KOTTAYAM: Newly elected CPI state secretary Panniyan Raveendran on Friday said that he would work towards establishing good relations with its major ally CPM in the coming days but would not hesitate to speak out the truth.At a meet-the-press programme organised by the Kottayam Press Club, he said the policy of the party was to maintain good relations and to strengthen the front in the state.However, he said that he would speak out if he found anything wrong.Making it clear that he would not follow in the footsteps of his predecessor the late C K Chandrappan against the CPM, Panniyan said that, in the first place, there is no question of developing differences with the major ally. The LDF is united and attempts will be made to make it stronger. Coalition politics is gaining ground for which Kerala is the testing ground. He said that the two fronts were ruling the state without any political uncertainties which had drawn the attention of other states.Panniyan said the consolidation of the front is over and there is no scope for a third front in the state.He said the CPI has resolved to frame policies to solve the problems of various sections of society.One such problem is that the women in the state are finding it unsafe to move about freely. This is a serious matter. To solve the problem, the party has started giving training to women. One such programme has begun in Kollam.The women would be trained in different martial arts to take on any kind of rivals.He said the programme would be extended to other parts of the state.When asked why the party was prompting women to engage in violence, he said: “There is no way out as the police have failed to protect them.” He said the party would organise agitations on the issue of price rise in the coming days.