KA Antony
Onchiyam, a sleepy green village near Vadakara in the Kozhikode district of Kerala is a land of political martyrs. May 4, 2012 handed Onchiyam another martyr in the form of T.P.Chandrasekharan -a CPI(M) rebel- who was hacked to death by assassins allegedly hired by the Marxist party which considered him a major threat in the impenetrable Communist bastion of Onchiyam and surrounding areas of Vadakara.
The Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) formed by Chandrasekharan after quitting the CPI(M) in 2009 had become a formidable political force to reckon with in the region and his candidature as an independent had resulted in the humiliating defeat of CPI(M) candidate and sitting MP from Vadakara constituency -P.Sathidevi- in the Lok Sabha elections held in the same year.
With Chandrasekhar’s brutal murder, a pall of gloom hung over the whole region. Even after almost four years, the 51 stab wounds on his dead torso continue to bleed in the minds of his widow K.K.Rema and their only son Abhinand -a sixth semester B.Tech student.
Rema firmly believes that CPI(M) Kannur district secretary P.Jayarajan was behind her husband’s cold-blooded murder. P Sathidevi who also happens to be Jayarajan’s sister was incidentally the one who lost to the UDF candidate Mullappally Ramachandran in the 2009 Parliamentary elections only because -the Leftists believe- Chandrasekhar’s candidature had divided the votes then.
Jayarajan apparently planned the murder with the supposed tacit consent of the then CPI(M) state secretary Pinrayi Vijayan. Jayarajan has in the past spent time in jail in connection with the Muslim League worker Shukoor murder case and is currently on bail in the murder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary Elathottathil Manoj of Kathiroor.
In a free-flowing interview, Rema talks to The News Minute about the larger conspiracy behind this political murder and the future plans of RMP in the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections scheduled for May 16.
Q: You have been demanding a CBI inquiry into the conspiracy angle. Do you think the case would be handed over to the CBI?
A: Our demand is still pending before the central government. I don’t know why the Centre is sitting on it even after the Kerala government sent a letter in support of our demand. Let’s just hope for the best.
Q: So you still believe that a few of the CPI(M) top-brass did have a role to play in the murder. Whom do you really suspect?
A: P Jayarajan, Pinarayi Vijayan…they were the people who really wanted to eliminate comrade T.P. after Sathidevi’s defeat. I am sure that he would not have been killed without the consent of these leaders. All you need to do is figure out who looks after the families of all the accused -Kodi Suni, Kirmani Manoj and Shafi- who are now in jail. It is the CPI(M) which provides for their families. Why should the party do it if they had no role in the killing?
Consider the Kathiroor Manoj murder case. Everyone knows that Jayarajan was behind the murder. The way he keeps feigning illness every time the CBI is about to question him makes him a laughing-stock! Why should he fear the CBI if he is not guilty?
Q: V.S.Achuthanandan who cried foul against TP’s murder in the aftermath of the killing now appears to be in no mood to support you and your party. How do you view this?
A: I am actually very much saddened by these developments. Comrade T.P sacrificed his life in pursuit of comrade VS’ stance in fighting against the harmful anti-communist trends that were eating into the party’s organizational structure. Comrade T.P would still have been alive had he not pursued VS’ call to cleanse the party. I have nothing more to say.
Q: It was said that you are planning to contest against Pinarayi Vijayan from Dharmadom. Is it true?
A: The RMP did in fact discuss this. Their contention is that my candidature against Pinarayi would help focus national attention on the contest which would in turn speed up the acquiescence for a CBl inquiry into comrade T.P’s murder. But I am yet to take a decision in this regard.
Q: Could you explain your lukewarm response to BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan’s statement that his party is ready to support your candidature against Pinarayi?
A: We don’t need support from the BJP. If we accept it, the Left alternative put forth by the RMP would become meaningless. Comrade T.P stood for a flawless Left movement which would never compromise with Marxist policies as being now done by the CPI(M). It’s a fact that a true Left doesn’t indeed exist in Kerala. What we have today are politics of crony capitalism and political fascism, both of which are wholly unacceptable to us.
Q: There are rumours also of you contesting from Vadakara where the RMP is a formidable force.
A: Yes; we are strong in Vadakara. But no –as I said earlier- nothing has been decided on that front. RMP will contest the Assembly elections this time and will announce its candidates in a few days.
Q: What would be the political stance of RMP in the coming elections?
A: The party wants to first and foremost focus attention on the criminalization of the CPI(M) and the political fascism pursued by it in recent times which should in fact become the main talking point among the masses in Kerala.
They seem to get away by projecting communal fascism as the main threat to both Kerala and the nation as a whole. RMP believes that people must be forewarned about political as well as communal fascism both of which must be studied from a true Communist point of view.
The CPI(M) is trying to garner maximum political mileage by assiduously projecting communalism promoted by the majority as well as the minority. Both these trends are equally dangerous and RMP emphasizes on efforts to expose and resist all such divisive forces.