I'm standing by what I said regarding P Raju's death; will respect party decision: KE Ismail

PALAKKAD: Senior CPI leader K.E. Ismail has challenged the disciplinary action taken by the party over his controversial statement on P. Raju's death. He said that his stand is against corruption. Ismail has clarified that he stands by what he said. K.E. Ismail said such things happen under some leadership, but he will remain a communist nonetheless till the end of his life.

The party has suspended me for six months. This is the party I helped to create. If my party takes a decision, I will accept it. It is my constitutional responsibility to accept the decision. He said that he stands by his responses on issues including Raju's death. K.E. Ismail also denied media reports that the suspension was an award given to him by the children he raised at the age of eighty-five.

Ismail was suspended by the CPI for six months. Ismail had clarified that the party's disciplinary action had caused mental stress to K. Raju and that Raju had told him openly about this. They should not have done that to him. Ismail had also said that some individuals were targeting him. The Ernakulam District Council complained to the state leadership that these remarks had caused great fatigue to the party. The demand was to take action for taking a stand that put the party in the crosshairs.

The state council that met the other day subsequently suspended him for six months. Currently, K.E. Ismail is a special invitee of the Palakkad District Council. He is a leader who was excluded from the state conference held in Thiruvananthapuram last time due to age limit.