KANNUR: CPI(M) Kannur District Secretariat has decided to expel district committee member V. Kunjikrishnan from the party for making explosive revelations in connection with the Payyannur Dhanraj Martyrs Fund scam, a case that has badly exposed the moral bankruptcy and internal rot of the CPI(M) leadership in Kannur. The Secretariat assessed that Kunjikrishnan, who has been openly at odds with the leadership following the party fund embezzlement controversy, has committed what it called a “serious breach of discipline” by daring to speak the truth in public. The decision was taken at a meeting attended by accused MLA T. Madhusoodanan, whose presence itself underlines how the CPI(M) has chosen to protect the powerful and punish the whistleblower.
A final decision on the expulsion will be taken after this recommendation is reported at the district committee meeting scheduled for today. Earlier, CPI(M) state secretary M.V. Govindan and state secretariat member M.V. Jayarajan had openly hinted that action would be taken against Kunjikrishnan for publicly revealing the Payyannur martyrs fund fraud allegations. The decision to move against him was taken at a district secretariat meeting attended by both leaders, once again making it clear that the party high command is determined to crush dissent rather than address corruption.
Meanwhile, Kunjikrishnan told the media that the expulsion move had been expected for a long time. He said that the party would continue the fight from outside, making it clear that he is not prepared to surrender to intimidation. Kunjikrishnan had earlier remarked that the leaders are using a propaganda tactic of “turning a sheep into a dog”, a cynical attempt to convert the complainant into the accused. The strategy, he said, is to manufacture guilt against him while shielding those who actually misappropriated funds. He added that he possesses concrete evidence regarding the misappropriation of money, though he has not yet decided whether to release it in full. However, he disclosed enough details to show the scale of manipulation and deceit within the CPI(M) machinery.
According to Kunjikrishnan, it was claimed that 34.25 lakh rupees were spent on building Dhanraj’s house. But when the cheque related to the Dhanraj Fund was examined, it became clear that only Rs. 29.25 lakh was actually debited and credited to the contractor’s account. Even more damagingly, it was found that Rs. 5 lakh was debited from the same account and credited to the account of the CPI(M) Area Committee. This transaction was not included in any of the official accounts, raising serious doubts about deliberate concealment. In addition to this, another transaction of Rs. 2 lakh was detected. It is not clear why this amount was spent or for what purpose. That transaction, too, was done through a cheque. When the cheque was examined, it was found that the money had been credited to the personal account of the then Area Secretary. Kunjikrishnan said that the amount was later withdrawn, a revelation that directly points to personal enrichment under the cover of party activity.
The district committee’s decision to take action against some individuals in connection with the Dhanraj Fund controversy was taken in 2022. At that time, Kunjikrishnan was not even a member of the district committee. He questioned how someone who was not part of the district committee could be blamed for any alleged mistake. He flatly rejected the claim that he had accepted the party’s internal investigation report. He said he could not accept an explanation that was designed only to make him guilty while protecting senior leaders. According to him, the party had even tried to paralyse his political activities until the meeting was over, exposing how disciplinary mechanisms are used as tools of suppression.
Kunjikrishnan also said that he has been away from party activities for the past eight months, not by choice but because he was systematically sidelined. He accused the party commissions of trying to turn the complainant into a criminal. “If a complaint is filed, they try to make the complainant the accused,” he said, pointing out that the commissions are concerned with protecting individuals in power, not with upholding truth or merit. He recalled that Manu Thomas had to leave the party earlier because of the findings of a commission, showing that this is not an isolated case but part of a long pattern of victimising inconvenient voices.
The CPI(M), in its official version, continues to claim that “not a single penny has been lost.” But Kunjikrishnan questioned this claim with devastating logic. The receipt books used to collect election funds have not been fully returned even now. Without their return, how can anyone claim that not a single rupee has gone missing? He said that what M.V. Jayarajan is saying is simply not true. He added that he has been raising these issues within the party for four years. When speaking internally produced no effect, he decided to speak openly. “How can telling the truth destroy the party?” he asked, turning the CPI(M)’s own rhetoric against it.
CPI(M) infighting turns public in Kannur
Meanwhile, CPI(M) factionalism has spilled onto the streets of Payyannur in Kannur district. Following the media revelations that T.I. Madhusoodanan MLA had embezzled money from the martyrs’ fund, a board in support of CPI(M) Kannur district committee member V. Kunjikrishnan appeared in public. A flex board supporting Kunjikrishnan was installed in Taineri under the limits of Payyannur municipality. The board, which carries photographs of the former Cheif minister V.S. Achuthanandan and Kunjikrishnan, also bears the slogan, “Forward and forward on the path shown by you,” clearly signalling that a section of the rank and file still believes in honesty over blind loyalty.
This triggered a massive controversy and led to clashes in Payyannur. CPI(M) workers resorted to violence against protest marches taken out by Congress and BJP to the MLA’s office, demanding his resignation. Instead of answering charges, the CPI(M) chose the familiar path of muscle power and street intimidation. In the days that followed, CPI(M) activists installed several flex boards across various parts of Payyannur municipality depicting district committee member V. Kunjikrishnan as a traitor. This public character assassination campaign was clearly aimed at isolating him and sending a warning to anyone else who might dare to speak out. In response, his supporters in Taineri put up a counter-board in his support. With this, CPI(M) factionalism in Payyannur has reached the dangerous stage of street confrontation.
Kunjikrishnan has said that there is a real threat of violence against him, but he is not afraid of anyone trying to harm him. At a meeting held after a recent CPI(M) protest, Payyannur Area Secretary K. Santosh made a chilling remark, saying that if someone comes against the party, “the wood will be damaged.” Although the threat was officially directed at Congress and BJP workers who staged a protest, many interpret it as a veiled warning to Kunjikrishnan himself, who has exposed the party’s dirty secrets.
The CPI(M) factionalism in Payyannur has now created two clear groups within the local unit. V. Kunjikrishnan continues to enjoy the support of a section of workers and leaders who believe that the real betrayal lies in stealing from a martyrs’ fund and then silencing those who expose it. As the district leadership moves to expel him, the episode stands as a grim reminder of how the CPI(M), which once claimed moral superiority, now appears more interested in protecting corruption than preserving its own principles.
