KOZHIKODE: People from all sections of society in Thalassery fondly remember Kodiyeri Balakrishnan as the leader who freely interacted even with his political enemies.“He was a leader who does not have the stubborn attitude of a communist. We had many occasions to sit together and discuss as part of the process to establish peace in violence-torn Thalassery,” said V Sasidharan, Kannur vibhag saha karyavahak of the RSS.
“He was the most popular leader Thalassery produced in the recent years. He was calm and cool even at the time of the worst political clashes. His speeches in public meetings may sound inflammatory but, in personal life, he was a very amiable person. Kodiyeri had initiated many peace dialogues when he was the minister Unfortunately, many of his ideas did not fully materialise due to opposition from the party,” he said.
Sasidharan said Kodiyeri never travelled with any security ring around him in Thalassery even when clashes were raging. “That shows the influence he wielded even among the rivals,” the RSS leader said.
P V Sirajudeen, who has known Kodiyeri for the past 48 years, said the loss of the leader cannot be filled very easily. “He gave me all instructions when I was in the SFI and later in the party,” said Sirajudeen, who was the CPM Kayyath branch committee secretary.
He remembers one instance which shows the humanity in the leader. “I was a counting agent in the byelection in 1996 when E K Nayanar contested from Thalassery. A photograph showing me leaning on the shoulders of BJP leader P K Krishnadas at the polling booth appeared in the next day’s newspapers,” Sirajudeen said.
There was a hue and cry because the CPM and the RSS were engaged in a bloody tit-for-tat game at that time. But Kodiyeri, who was the chief election agent for Nayanar, was unperturbed. “I still remember what Kodiyeri said at that time, ‘What is wrong in a human being interacting without inhibitions? We don’t want people shedding blood.’ This was his reaction,” Sirajudeen said.