THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior CPM leader E P Jayarajan was removed from the post of LDF convener in line with CPI’s demand, state secretary Binoy Viswam told the CPI state council. Sources said Binoy gave a detailed reply to criticism raised in the state council.
“We had conveyed our position to the CPM after the controversy over E P Jayarajan meeting BJP national leader Prakash Javadekar and his statement praising the BJP candidate in Thiruvananthapuram. We conveyed that EP continuing as LDF convenor is not good for the front, and ideally, he should be removed. After deliberations in their party, CPM state secretary M V Govindan personally rang me up and said that considering our demand they decided to remove EP from the post,” Binoy said in the state council.
His statement came in the wake of growing criticism in the state council that the CPI has surrendered to the CPM. He also explained instances where the CPM has acted on CPI’s demand. “The CPM agreed to give us the Rajya Sabha seat after we raised the issue. When they suggested seat rotation, we demanded that their seat be brought into the same category. And recently, the government removed ADGP M R Ajith Kumar from the post,” the state secretary pointed out.
Binoy also told the committee that he has conveyed CPI’s position regarding MLA M Mukesh, in the backdrop of sexual harassment allegations against him. “At an online state executive meeting, we decided that our position is that Mukesh should resign from the post, upholding the Left moral values.
I told this to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. However, the CM said if Mukesh steps down, the LDF may face a setback in the coming byelection and that might affect the government too,” he added. Replying to the issue connected to veteran leader K E Ismail, the CPI state secretary said the allegation that he was not allotted any unit was wrong. Ismail was included in the Palakkad district council as an invitee. Binoy said he has not replied to the party notice.
Meanwhile, the party’s Lok Sabha candidate in Thrissur, V S Sunil Kumar, told the council that the disruption of Thrissur Pooram was not the only reason for LDF’s defeat there. He cited the erosion of CPI and CPM votes in the constituency.
The LDF faced a setback in around 27 areas where the Left had always maintained leads. “LDF’s defeat is a political setback. I don’t think that happened only because of the Pooram fiasco,” Sunil reportedly said. Another leader from Thrissur alleged that there are reports the BJP bought the votes of the CPM cadre and sympathisers in many places.
In his address to the committee, CPI general secretary D Raja accepted the state unit’s demand that national leaders of mass organisations consult the state leadership before issuing statements that might affect the state government.
He was speaking after Binoy explained the controversy over central secretariat member Annie Raja’s comment demanding the resignation of Mukesh. “Being the national general secretary of NFIW, Annie Raja can criticise attacks against women and the police highhandedness. However, on matters related to the state government, she should consult the state leadership,” he said.
