West Bengal & Kerala: CPM’s Double Standards on Political Killings

Killing itself is bad. Political killing is worse; series of political killings are the worst. This is the logic an average human being carries in his inner heart, and that is true too; it is the fact, truth and reality, no doubt – lock, stock and barrel. Obviously RSS swayamsevaks endorse this and try to translate it into action in their life. But, the fascist and one-party mind set of the CPM and their offshoots make it impractical in a state like Kerala, where they claim to be the largest and strongest political movement. Obviously, they behave as if they have some sort of ‘fundamental right’ to kill whoever does not endorse their ideology and modus operandi.

 

The latest killings in Mahe, bordering Kerala and Puthusserry, give a glaring example for this. Two murders took place in that area during the night of May 7, 2018. Babu, one of them, belonged to CPM. Shamej, the other one, belonged to RSS. The latter was killed hardly an hour after the killing of the former. But, instead of regretting the death of both, the CPM leaders’ responses were not only aggressive but also arrogant. They were and still are finding out and raising the justification for the killing of Shamej, an auto river. CPM central committee member and Kerala Law Minister A.K. Balan shot the shameful salvo. He said, the murder of the RSS worker was a natural, emotional response of his party men to the murder of their party leader. His party men are under attack and it is normal for them to retaliate as an act of self-defence. He alleges that Babu’s murder was premeditated, but Shamej’s murder is not linked to the general political violence in Kannur. But, according to the Police, that the motive for murdering CPM leader Babu was personal animosity. It was not a political murder!

 

‘Our workers had come under attack and it is normal (for them) to retaliate as an act of self-defence.’                              — A.K. Balan, Law Minister, Kerala

 

Then comes another shot: It is from Balan’s senior leader and party’s PB member. M.A. Baby “could not weigh both murders in the same balance.” He says, emotional response is natural when a popular leader is killed brutally. He states, it is not fair to find similarities between the sheep and the wolf ! CPM’s central committee member and Kerala’s finance minister T.M. Thomas Isaac and CPM leader and Kerala’s industries minister A.C. Moideen also aired their justification for the killing of the RSS worker. Isaac thinks that the RSS worker’s death was the result of a natural and momentary reaction to the CPM leader’s murder. But, the murder of his comrade Babu was pre-planned!

 

This sort of ‘killing instinct’ is in CPM’s DNA. It was evident when CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan visited the house of the slain Babu. Interestingly he was not in a mood to console the BJP worker who lives just across the narrow lane, perfectly opposite to Babu’s. The BJP man’s house had been attacked and damaged by the CPM worker post both the murders. Even though he saw the BJP worker his niceties were confined to ‘what is your name’ and a handshake.

 

‘In such a situation, how can you weigh both the incidents in the same balance? How can one find similarities between the sheep and the wolf?    — M A Baby, CPM politburo member

 

Graver contribution to this extra ordinary approach was from not less a person than CM Pinaayi Vijayan. He did not bother to visit and console the family members of the murdered RSS swayamsevak Shamej when he visited the family members and kith and kin of his killed comrade Babu. Observers view it as a clear message to the state that he is the CM of the CPM, not of the people of Kerala. In another words it proved that he still maintains the mindset of a party secretary, a far cry from the position of the chief minister of a state. It again justified those who justify the killing of the RSS worker. It is something which non-CPM leaders can hardly ape! Of course, this sort of illogic dies hardness is not definitely any body’s envy.

 

One should not be blamed if he views these sorts of reactions of the VIPs to the tragic murders of two human beings, despite severe similarities in between, absurd. CPM xeroxes in Kerala what they have been doing in Bengal until they lost both muscle power and political power in Bengal. Now, what they suffer at the hands of the TMC are what they did against all other parties in the state for three decades. Their very philosophy of Marxism is hate theory. Their philosophy does not permit them to practise tolerance. They do not accept the relevance of dissent or difference of opinion.

 

Wherever communists are in power opposition party or opposition leader is a wishful thinking. None of us has come across the names of an opposition party or opposition leader in a communist-ruled country in the past or at present. One can go into the history of the former East Block countries, USSR, China, Cuba or North Korea. Marxism is authoritarianism based one party rule. They eliminate any sort of dissent. Soviet Union’s mass graves of Stalinist years, Kampuchea’s heaps of skulls of Pol Pot’s regime and 1989 incident of Tiananmen Square in China, etc. are some glaring examples. When one goes through these sorts of happenings, he will be in pains to differentiate between Communist rulers and Hitler. But, when CPM men in Bharat blame RSS and BJP as fascists, it is nothing but a fun for the right-thinking people.

 

If one takes the case of any political clash in Kerala, CPM is a common factor. They attack and kill the workers of RSS, BJP, VHP, BMS, Congress, CPI and even their own men if they believe that their existence in the state is detrimental to the existence of them (CPM). Since coming to power at the centre is not even a remote dream for them, when they get power in states, they practise fascism there. Bengal, Kerala and Tripura are the examples.

 

The conclusion is simple: It is impossible to eye the dawn of peace in Kerala as long as CPM sticks on to their philosophy of political murder, elimination of dissent and opponents. They find an alibi for every killing, sometimes, it is emotional retaliation, read, tit for tat. On some other occasions it is resistance or protection of minorities, protection of Dalits and/or weaker sections, etc. etc. Law (rule) of the land is not applicable when “emotion” rules. Of course, a novel Sharia law!