A few days after the arrest of his son Bineesh Kodiyeri in an alleged money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate in Bengaluru, senior CPI(M) leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan on Friday stepped aside from the post of party secretary in Kerala.

As per a statement issued by the party secretariat Thiruvananthapuram, Balakrishnan, who is also a politburo member, had sought leave for further treatment, which has been accepted by the Marxist party. Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener, A Vijayaraghavan has been handed over with additional charge of the party secretary, it said.

The development comes as the 3-phase local body polls are scheduled next month in the southern state. Also, former home minister in the VS Achutanandan ministry, Balarkrishnan, who is considered second most strong man in the party after CM Pinarayi Vijayan, has been undergoing treatment for cancer for some time. Senior CPI(M) leader M Govindan Master said here that Balakrishnan was granted leave on medical grounds.

"Balakrishnan had sought leave for his treatment which has been granted by the party secretariat today," he told reporters. When asked how long he would be on leave, Master said that would depend on his treatment. In an embarrassment to the Left Party, the ED Directorate in Bengaluru had arrested Bineesh, Kodiyeri's younger son, on October 29 in a money laundering case linked to a drug seizure in Karnataka.

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