Thrissur (Kerala) | CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan on Sunday said party leaders who contested the recent assembly elections with the support of the UDF had committed "class betrayal" and could be accepted back into the party only if they corrected their mistake.
Govindan was responding to reporters' questions about recent remarks by senior CPI(M) leader MV Jayarajan, who had said the party made mistakes in candidate selection in some constituencies and that those who contested with UDF support could be taken back if they returned after correcting their mistake.
Former CPI(M) leaders V Kunhikrishnan, MV Govindan and G Sudhakaran had contested the Assembly elections with the support of the UDF in Payyanur, Thaliparamba and Ambalapuzha constituencies, respectively and won.
Govindan said the party had already examined these developments as part of its post-election self-criticism and did not wish to discuss them again before the media.
He also said Jayarajan's remarks did not reflect any fresh party decision.
"If anyone corrects their mistake, they can be taken back. That is applicable anywhere in the world," he said.
Asked what mistakes the rebel leaders had committed, Govindan said they had betrayed the party.
"The party has already made its position clear. The stand taken by Sudhakaran, Govindan and Kunhikrishnan amounted to betrayal of the party. They were part of the party's top leadership, but they betrayed the party and left," he said.
He said the party would continue to criticise the stand taken by the rebel leaders.
"However, the general principle is that if a person corrects the mistake, he or she can become part of the CPI(M)," Govindan said.
He said the party's review following the Assembly election defeat had concluded that the leaders had acted against the party by contesting with UDF support.
"If individual leaders express their views before the media, it should not be turned into a separate issue. The party has already reviewed the matter," he said.
Rejecting reports of a faction emerging in the CPI(M) under the party general secretary MA Baby after the election defeat, Govindan dismissed the speculation.
"It is nonsense," he said, refusing to elaborate further.
The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), which had been in power in Kerala for 10 years, suffered a heavy defeat in the Assembly elections, winning only 35 of the 140 seats, while the UDF returned to power with 102 seats.
Meanwhile, MV Jayarajan told reporters that several leaders, including MV Raghavan and K R Gowri Amma, who had left the party in the past had later returned, and the same opportunity remained open for the party's rebel leaders if they corrected their mistakes.
"If they do not correct themselves, they will continue to remain betrayers. Now the UDF has created a situation for them to correct their mistakes," Jayarajan told reporters.
He claimed that the rebel leaders had joined the UDF with high expectations but were now disappointed as the ruling front had failed to fulfil its election promises, including the five guarantees.
Referring to the transfer of shares in the Vizhinjam port project by the Adani Group to MSC, Jayarajan questioned why the rebel MLAs had remained silent on the issue.
"They can at least ask the government's position on the matter. They can at least write a letter to the Chief Minister. But they are not saying anything," he said.
Responding to Jayarajan's remarks, Thaliparamba MLA T K Govindan said his decision to contest the Assembly election as an Independent had been vindicated by the people's verdict.
"Now Jayarajan says I should correct my mistake. What mistake have I committed? Who should make the correction? Jayarajan should clarify that," he said.
Govindan said the CPI(M) itself had admitted during its election review that mistakes had been committed in Thaliparamba, Payyanur and elsewhere in the state.
"So it is the party that has to correct itself, not me. I took the right stand and the people supported me. If the party corrects its mistakes, the people may accept it," he said.
He also rejected comparisons with MV Raghavan and K R Gowri Amma, saying they had returned to the CPI(M) under different circumstances.
He pointed out that the Communist Marxist Party founded by MV Raghavan, still exists and has a minister now after being part of the ruling UDF
Payyanur MLA V Kunhikrishnan also rejected Jayarajan's remarks, saying the CPI(M) had still not explained what mistake he had committed.
"It is a pattern in the CPI(M) to brand those who face disciplinary action as 'class betrayers', 'traitors' or 'axe handles'," he said.
Kunhikrishnan said issues such as the Vizhinjam port had no connection with the disciplinary action taken against him before the Assembly elections.
"I have no difficulty in expressing my views on those issues. But first, let the party explain what my mistake was. After that, I can respond to other matters," he said.
He asserted that he remained a communist and alleged that the CPI(M) was trying to portray him as a UDF leader.
Kunhikrishnan was expelled from the party after raising allegations of fund misappropriation against CPI(M) leaders in Payyanur.
Govindan had contested as an Independent after objecting to the CPI(M)'s decision to field party state secretary MV Govindan's wife, P K Shyamala, from Thaliparamba.
