CPM-CPI rift unlikely to derail LDF

The ongoing war of words between  CPM and CPI leaders in the state is likely to die down with the central leadership of both parties intervening to rein in their respective leaders.

 Besides, despite their war of words , the leading partners of the LDF cannot have  dreamt of dumping the LDF mechanism and try other political alliances as both parties have no other choice but to stay together as far as the alliance at the national level continue to remain intact.

 As more and more leaders from both sides have come out to wash the dirty linen in public, the central leadership of both parties have came forward to restrain their leaders in the state.  CPI general secretary P Sudhakar Reddy asked his party men in Kerala to refrain from making open statements. Though initially reluctant to respond, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat on Thursday said in  New Delhi that the issues would be settled at the state level itself.  It was CPI’s outright rejection of CPM’s call to join the hartal called in protest of CPM Kannur district secretary P Jayarajan’s arrest in the Abdul Shukoor murder case on August 2, that triggered the war of words between the CPM and the CPI leaders.

 CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan’s scathing attack on the CPI leadership is  understandable as it was a rude shock to him to see the second leading front partner dissociating itself from the  violence unleashed by CPM workers during the hartal day. 

Pinarayi Vijayan had admitted that they had not sought the support of the CPI for the state- wide hartal. The reason cited was the latter’s reluctance to join the hartal called at the district level. 

 ‘’We had called up the CPI Kannur district secretary and asked whether they could call an LDF hartal. But he said they would not join the hartal call. In view of this, how can we expect them to join the State-level hartal?’’ Pinarayi asked at a public meeting here.

  He had also alleged that CPI was joining forces with the enemies in attacking CPM. Taking a cue from Pinarayi, LDF convenor Vaikom Viswan also came to the defence of his party provoking the CPI.

 Responding to the allegations, CPI state secretary Panniyan Raveendran said that Pinarayi had known that how CPI men were killed following the split in the party in 1964. CPI legislative party leader C Divakaran went to the extent of even demanding Viswan’s resignation from the post of LDF convenor.

‘’It was like a judge joining one party in a case’’ he said.  Pinarayi was unrelenting as he called the CPI responsible for the murder of many of CPM workers.  Panniyan said that Pinarayi was making a mistake by calling CPI a party of killers. ‘’His(Pinarayi’s) remarks branding the CPI as party of murderers will have no takers,’’ Panniyan said.