'Marxist rebel's murder has exposed CPM'

The crisis in Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Kerala in the wake of the murder of Marxist rebel and Revolutionary Marxist Party leader T P Chandrasekharan has exposed the "politics of violence" practiced by the party, Industries Minister and Indian Union Muslim League leader P K Kunhalikutty has said.

"Political murders are often seen as caused by spontaneous outbursts. But now it has become clear these are mostly planned and executed engaging even hitmen. In most cases CPI-M workers are perpetrators and activists of parties like IUML, Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party the victims", he said in an interview.

He alleged that CPI-M, especially a powerful section in it, had for the last few decades been creating a "fear psychosis".

"This style of functioning is no longer acceptable to vast sections of a civilised society like Kerala. Especially it is not going to be tolerated by the youth," he said.

CPI-M should introspect and change its policy of violence. But what was of concern was a section in the party continued to justify violence and even conduct marches to police stations to get the accused released, he said.

In contrast, the Congress-led UDF, in which IUML is the second largest constituent, had never practiced politics of vengeance as that had no place in a democracy, he said.

On CPI-M veteran V S Achuthanandan's outburst against the state leadership, Kunhalikutty said it was too early to say whether the expression of concern by the senior leader on the politics of violence was "superficial or serious."

"Let us wait. Let us see how things are going to turn out. I don't want to jump to conclusions," he said.

"UDF does not believe in making capital out of the rival's adversity. We are on a positive platform which has received wide acceptability. This was evident when we won the Piravom assembly bypoll by an impressive margin and a string of civic by elections recently. This victory is going to be repeated in Neyyattinkara assembly by-poll on June 2," he said.

He rejected as "baseless" the propaganda that IUML had been pressurising the Oommen Chandy government to receive undue favours. "This is a malicious propaganda against UDF in general and IUML in particular by political opponents".

On the row over IUML getting a fith cabinet berth, he said there was nothing new in it as the party had similar positions in the earlier UDF ministry, including that of government chief whip.