New Delhi, May 26
In a significant development, the CPM politburo today suspended Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and party state unit head Pinarayi Vijayan from the CPM’s highest decision-making body for their anti-party activities.

Terming the behaviour of the two leaders as “unacceptable,” CPM general secretary Prakash Karat, while announcing the decision to suspend them, said the open criticism by the two senior leaders has violated the norms of the party and the clear directive of the politburo and the Central Committee that the state party leadership should not air their differences publicly.

Karat, however, made it clear that Achuthanandan will remain the Chief Minister while Vijayan will continue to be the secretary of the CPM's Kerala unit.

The politburo, after its two-day meeting which ended today, took the harsh decision in a desperate bid to rein in the two top leaders of Kerala who have openly denounced each other in recent days, embarrassing a party that has prided itself for discipline.