Thiruvananthapuram, Friday, January 23, 2009: Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan continued to maintain silence on the SNC-Lavalin case in which CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has been arraigned as an accused.

Achuthanandan, who returned here today after discussions with the party’s central leaders in Delhi on the development, declined to make any comment on the issue despite reporters pressing for his reaction.

The CPI-M Polit Bureau had yesterday defended Vijayan arguing that he was being framed by the investigating agency under pressure from the Congress-led UPA government to settle scores with the CPI-M for withdrawal of Left support to the UPA regime.

Significantly, Achuthanandan has so far not made any open comment either in defence of Vijayan or on the merit of the case. However, other senior party leaders in the state, including Polit Bureau member and state Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had openly supported Vijayan right from the start.

The party state secretariat is expected to meet here later in the day to discuss the turn in the case.