THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan on Wednesday termed reports that the CPM was planning to observe the Ramayana month as “baseless.” On the other hand, the party central leadership has reportedly sought a clarification from the state unit on the issue which has left the party red-faced.
According to Kodiyeri, the Sanskrit Sangh, which was organising various programmes to mark the occasion, was not a CPM organisation. It was an independent organisation, he said. The RSS was misusing the month of Karkidakam observed as the Ramayana month for communal campaigns and for its political ends.
The Sanskrit Sangh programmes were not intended as a Ramayana recital during the Karkidaka month, Kodiyeri said. Neither was it confined to the Karkidakam month. “This being the fact, some media, however, are trying to use it as a propaganda against the CPM,” he said.
The controversy is being portrayed as another attempt by the CPM to wrest control over Hindu institutions. The Sanskrit Sangh is a Left-supported organisation. An earlier decision to celebrate the Sree Krishna Jayanti with much fanfare had also kicked up a row.