By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : The Congress in Kerala has alleged that the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) headquarters here is using more than the land allotted to it, even as Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan's demolition drive against illegal encroachments continues in several districts.
State Congress leaders are now demanding that the area occupied by the party office be measured.
"There is no point in CPI-M state secretary Pinnarayi Vijayan saying that there has been no encroachment. They have to come clean about it and this can only be done by measuring the area of land where their party headquarters stands," state Congress president Ramesh Chennithala told reporters Friday.
In 1977, then chief minister A.K. Antony had given 33 cents of land to the CPI-M to build their party office. Later, they were given 15 cents of land from Kerala University, right next to the previously allotted land.
The Congress, however, has been repeatedly alleging that the CPI-M has taken up more than the allotted 15 cents for its office.
"Officials are now in the process of recovering encroached government and forest land across the state. So the CPI-M and Achuthanandan should come forward and have their land measured," Chennithala said.
The government has recovered over 200 acres of land across Kerala ever since Achuthanandan launched the anti-encroachment drive three weeks back.