CPI(M) Against Both Majority, Minority Communalism: Kerala CM

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has asserted that the ruling CPI (M) opposes both majority and minority communalism and will not compromise on either side.

Kozhikode(Kerala): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Tuesday that the ruling CPI(M) in the state opposes both majority and minority communalism and will not compromise with either side.

Vijayan said that anyone, who is backed by a particular communal force, cannot hope to depict CPI(M) and its members as non-secular by making baseless statements as such hopes will turn out to be mere delusion. The CM was speaking after inaugurating the AKG Auditorium constructed by the Left party's District Committee here.

In a veiled attack on dissident MLA P V Anvar, who sought to portray the Chief Minister's two close confidantes and certain CPI(M) leaders as trying to move closer to the RSS, Vijayan said, "Some individuals, believing themselves to be backed by one of the several communal forces in the state, have rented out their tongues and are making allegations to depict the CPI(M) and its members as non-secular.

"Such attempts, in the hope of portraying the CPI(M) as communal, will only prove to be a delusion." The CM's remark comes in the wake of CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan claiming, earlier in the day, that Anvar was backed by an alliance of the Congress, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and the Jamaat-e-Islami.

The CM said that he was seeing attempts to create a communal smokescreen in the state, but the people of Kerala will not allow it. Taking a dig at Anvar, Vijayan said that some individuals were affected by the police action against gold smuggling and hawala transactions.

"Why are some people affected when those involved in gold smuggling and hawala transactions are caught? Wrongful acts will not be condoned and will invite strict action. "These actions are intended for the good of the country, and the police will continue to take strict measures against them," he said. Anvar has been alleging that the police pilfered some portions of the gold seized from "carriers" of the yellow metal.

He has been accusing ADGP (Law and Order), M R Ajithkumar and other senior police officials of not following proper procedure while seizing gold illegally brought from abroad. He had challenged the CM to order a reinvestigation into the around 180 gold smuggling cases in the state.

Anvar, who won from the Nilambur constituency in Malappuram as a Left candidate, has been locking horns with the ruling CPI (M) and Vijayan for the past few weeks over various issues, which has led to the communist party cutting ties with him. Besides the indirect references to the Nilambur MLA, the CM also directly referred to him by saying that Anvar, while he was a part of the Left front, had made certain allegations which were being seriously considered by the government and were not simply rejected. The CM said a team under the State Police Chief was constituted to probe the allegations and submit a report within a month.

"Action will be taken in accordance with the findings in the report," he said. However, before the report came, Anvar came out with his own agenda, the CM added.

He also referred to a news report in an English daily which allegedly misquoted him as having said that money from gold smuggling through Karipur International Airport in Malappuram district and hawala transactions were used for "anti-state" and "anti-national activities".

Vijayan said that his office sought a clarification from the daily and it has issued one admitting its mistake. He said there was no statement from him blaming a particular place or district for gold smuggling or hawala transactions.

Quoting figures of the gold smuggling cases in the state, the quantities of the precious metal seized and the hawala transactions, the CM said that the figures indicated that most of these crimes occurred near the international airport in Malappuram district. "These are just statistics," he added.