Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) claims that the ongoing controversy regarding Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the State stems from the divisions within the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist). One faction appears to be displaying an undue sense of urgency in facilitating the approvals to benefit specific real estate enterprises. During a recent meeting of the KPCC executive committee held here on Sunday, the topic of the SEZ controversy was reviewed alongside other pressing matters, leading to a decision to issue a statement reaffirming the party's stance on the issue. At a subsequent press conference, KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala articulated the party's position on the matter. The committee unanimously expressed that the rift within the CPI(M) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF), which it heads, was unwarranted. The LDF government has already sanctioned SEZs in various regions of the State, with an emphasis on fields such as Information Technology, and neither the Communist Party of India nor Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan challenged the policy when it was first proposed. In a note shared during the meeting, Mr. Chennithala elaborated on the party's policy framework, indicating that the majority of the 21 applications for SEZ status submitted to the government were attributed to real estate developers and construction firms, whose primary aim is to erect apartments and related establishments. Mr. Chennithala further pinpointed particular companies in his document, asserting that the Industries Department had forwarded the applications of some of these firms to the Chief Minister without adequate groundwork and by allowing them to bypass the essential government approvals. These proposals, he contended, were sent for Central clearance prematurely, without prior deliberation in the Cabinet. Furthermore, he alleged that many of these companies had inflated their claims regarding their investments in the SEZs, often involving agricultural lands, as highlighted in the note. In a later press interaction, Mr. Chennithala remarked that the Chief Minister's recent opposition to the SEZs was not motivated by ideological differences; instead, it was a political maneuver initiated by his party's State committee aiming to politically corner him. The KPCC president underscored that the Congress party's standpoint had been clarified by party president Sonia Gandhi during a session of the All India Congress Committee in Nainital.