Communist leaders often contradict each other — one says something, the other says the opposite. And when they do agree, the truth usually turns out to be something else. Their usual excuse, calling it a “historical blunder,” is always ready on their lips. The recent statements by the CPM Party Secretary and the Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan regarding the 1975 Emergency and whether the CPM had links with the RSS during those days are no different.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and CPM State Secretary M.V. Govindan have come out with conflicting opinions regarding the party’s (CPM) links with the RSS during the days of the Emergency. Govindan had reportedly stated recently that his party had joined hands with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) when it was inevitable. However, Pinarayi Vijayan, the CPM supremo and the Chief Minister of the state, declared on June 18 that none of their leaders or workers had appeased the RSS or joined hands with them. The Chief Minister was evidently engaging in a minority vote-bank appeasement exercise; he convened a press conference for this purpose.
CPM Secretary Govindan had reportedly said during an interview that his party had joined hands with the RSS under inevitable circumstances. He added that if the truth were told, there would be no controversy. During the Emergency, the party had joined hands with the RSS. Emergency was a semi-fascist regime. In those days, there was no room for choice, and therefore the party aligned with all possible forces.
Govindan’s statement triggered heated discussion during the Nilambur by-election campaign. Undoubtedly, the CPM state secretary made the statement, perhaps, to please Hindu voters in the Nilambur by-election. Another possibility is that he intended to jeopardise the chances of the CPM candidate M. Swaraj. Political observers opine that a section of CPM leaders does not wish for a Swaraj victory. When Govindan’s statement became controversial, he retracted his words. He convened a press conference on June 18 and stated that his earlier remarks on the RSS had been deliberately twisted.
He said the following:
‘Emergency was a semi-fascist establishment. Various parties joined hands to form the Janata Party; Jan Sangh was one among them. That is what I said.’
Close on the heels of Govindan’s press conference, CM Pinarayi Vijayan addressed the media and stated that none of them had appeased the RSS at any point in time. There was no agreement between his party and the RSS. The communists have never joined hands with the RSS since its inception. There are no such links now, nor will there be any in the future. His party would not have any truck with any ‘communal force’.
Pinarayi said that the statement suggesting the CPM had links with the RSS on account of the merger of Jan Sangh into the Janata Party, formed in 1977 to politically oppose the Emergency, was utter nonsense. He questioned how an electoral alliance between the CPM and the Janata Party could be interpreted as links with the RSS.
These developments expose the internal discipline, or lack thereof, within the CPM. According to party protocol, the party secretary’s word is final. Yet, M. Swaraj, the CPM candidate in the Nilambur by-election, came forward to clarify that the CPM had never joined hands with the RSS. This was followed by the Chief Minister’s press conference. In other words, the party secretary is no longer the final authority in the party.
Meanwhile, TV channels flashed a copy of a statement made by former Chief Minister and CPM ideologue EMS Namboodiripad on the floor of the Assembly years ago in response to a question about the RSS. His answer was noteworthy: he said, ‘RSS is a voluntary Hindu organisation’. This was brought to light by BJP leader Shon George.
BJP leaders have since asked CPM leaders whether they are now willing to disown EMS and his statement in the Assembly. EMS’s answer on the Assembly floor will continue to haunt the CPM for a long time, and they will find it difficult to provide a satisfactory explanation.
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