By Sanu George, IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : The Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI M), which raises a lot of hue and cry over the killings of its cadres in West Bengal, is facing a piquant situation in Kerala over the brutal murder of a firebrand former party colleague after some CPI-M activists were rounded up as suspects for the crime.
T.P. Chandrasekharan, 51, a popular local leader in Onchiyam, was killed May 4 while returning home on his motorcycle. He was hacked to death by a group of assailants who came in an Innova car, according to police.
Chandrasekharan has been a pain for the ‘red party’ ever since he left them in 2008 and formed the Revolutionary Marxist Party. A hugely popular leader in and around Kozhikode district, he took on his former party and flayed their ideological stand. CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has publicly declare Chandrasekharan as a ‘renegade’.
The autopsy report of Chandrasekharan revealed that he had been hacked 51 times.
The day after the murder, police traced the vehicle used in the crime and arrested 15 people, of whom six were known CPI-M activists. A probe was ordered in the case.
Taking advantage of the situation with the Neyattinkara electoral battle round the corner, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Home Minister T. Radhakrishnan have taken the fight into the CPI-M camp.
“In no way will the conspirators and the perpetrators be allowed to go scot-free by putting the blame on hired killers. Such days are over in Kerala. Investigation will expose the conspiracy,” Chandy said.
Vijayan, who is finding it difficult to defend the involvement of his party activists in Chandrasekharan’s killing, said, “The government is trying its best to indict our party in this crime. We know how to tackle it and you just wait and see, we will rise like a fireball.”
Breaking his silence on the murder, party general secretary Prakash Karat at a public meeting in Kannur, around 500 km from state capital, Saturday accused the media and the Congress-led United Democratic Front government of spreading canards against his party.
“Our party is in no way involved in this. We do not use weapons against our rivals, instead we take on them ideologically. We will not protect anyone who has done a wrong,” said Karat.
The CPI-M got a rude jolt soon after the murder when senior party leader V.S. Achuthanandan called Chandrasekharan a true Communist. He was the only top leader who went to pay his last respects to the murdered former colleague.
Following these development, the CPI-M has decided to give the cold-shoulder to Achuthanandan until the Neyattinkara by-poll is over.