CPM general secretary Prakash Karat has said that all the attacks against the CPM and its leader Pinarayi Vijayan had failed to stop the onward march of the Left movement in the state.
Speaking at a meeting on Wednesday organised under the aegis of the CPM district committee to accord a reception to state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan who was discharged from the SNC Lavalin case by the CBI Special Court the other day, he said this was why the ruling class led by the Congress party adopted a new method to malign the party and Pinarayi Vijayan by framing him in a fabricated case.
‘’Whether it is in Kerala or outside, the biggest asset is that our leaders and our government are incorruptible. In 34-year of Left rule in West Bengal no single instance of corruption was proved against us. In Kerala also no allegation against LDF Government could be proved,’’ he said.
Karat said it was a conspiracy to tarnish the image of the party that a false case was framed against Pinarayi Vijayan.
‘’When the allegation against comrade Pinarayi Vijayan surfaced here, when the probe began first by the state Vigilance and then by the CBI, we had no doubt that it was a fabricated case. We decided that we must fight it in political and other forums,’’ he said.
He added that it was a deliberate attempt to malign the party.
He asked those who had subscribed to the allegations and the media which had joined the campaign as to why they could not realise this when a single judge could see that the entire case was a cooked-up one.
‘’It was through a politically tinted glass which you looked at us. We will never hoodwink the people and the trust they had bestowed on the party,’’ he added.
Karat claimed that there was a greater investigation agency than the CBI - it is CPM. If corruption takes place during our tenure in power we will not tolerate, he claimed.
He also pointed out that since 2008 when the CBI framed Pinarayi in the case there was no vacillation or effort to explain his stand from the part of Vijayan. Karat said he was saluting the revolutionary determination to fight the case.
Karat said he had seen governments in power at the Centre trying to use CBI as an instrument for political purposes to derive political benefit.
He asked the Congress party to stop using the CBI to harass political opponents and it should draw a lesson from the Court verdict. Pinarayi Vijayan, replying to the reception, said that the party’s stand to face the case politically was a relief to him. He reiterated that he was targeted to malign the party.
He said the party which was been behind him had realised this. He reminded that he had to face even attempts on his life at least three times. Pinarayi, in a veiled reference to the style of functioning of certain leaders. said that some leaders mistook the mass support as adoration for their personality.
He said that there were a deliberate attempt to delay SNC Lavalin case and leave him under the cloud of suspicion.
Prakash Karat said it was unfortunate to crucify those who take efforts for development only for political vendetta.
He wanted political parties to shift to a new culture which is helpful for the development of the state.
Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan was conspicuous by his absence in the meeting.
K E Ismail of the CPI, Kadannappally Ramachandran (Congress-S) and Mathew T Thomas of Janata Dal (S) spoke. CPM district secretary Kadakampally Surendran welcomed the gathering. CPM politburo member M A Baby, Vaikom Viswan, Mayor K Chandrika, M Vijayakumar and others attended.