CPI-M Kerala state secretary MV Govindan has issued a legal notice to Chennai-based businessman Muhammad Sharshad over allegations made against him and his son, Shyamjith.
Sharshad alleged that Govindan’s son leaked a confidential complaint he had submitted to the CPI-M Polit Bureau, exposing alleged illegal financial dealings of certain party leaders.
Terming the allegations “false and baseless,” Govindan, through Thiruvananthapuram-based lawyer Rajagopal, said the claims were aimed at tarnishing his public image.
In the legal notice, Govindan demanded that Sharshad withdraw his allegations within three days, issue a public apology on the same platforms where the charges were made, and remove all related social media posts. Failing this, the CPI-M leader warned of legal action.
Govindan argued that Sharshad’s complaint had already entered the public domain via social media and the press soon after being submitted to the Polit Bureau, and therefore the allegation that his son leaked it was “unfounded.”
The notice stated: “You have made the allegation that a confidential document was leaked through my son. This is baseless and malicious. The print, visual and social media have quoted you and published that the complaint you filed with the Polit Bureau months ago was leaked through M.V. Govindan’s son. You allege that I leaked the complaint through my son because he is related to Rajesh Krishna, who has filed a defamation case of ₹10 crore against you in the Delhi High Court. However, it is known that the complaint was already available on social media from the day it was sent to the Polit Bureau.”
The notice further emphasized that Govindan, who has been a prominent CPI-M figure for five decades, faced reputational damage due to Sharshad’s “baseless allegations.”
Meanwhile, CPI-M secretariat member MV Jayarajan dismissed the controversy as a personal dispute, saying the party had no role in it.
“They are trying to catch a black cat in the dark. The communists’ hands are clean,” he remarked.
Party leaders appear keen to project the leak row as a private feud while avoiding direct comment on the financial allegations contained in Sharshad’s complaint.
Opposition leader VD Satheesan, however, pressed the issue further, questioning whether London-based businessman Rajesh Krishna was acting as a middleman in various projects in Kerala.
“There have been many ‘Avatharams’ (incarnations) in CPI-M, and Rajesh Krishna is the latest one,” he said.
In his complaint, Sharshad alleged that Rajesh Krishna transferred unaccounted money to the bank accounts of some CPI-M leaders, embezzled funds from government schemes in collaboration with foreign paper companies, and routed the money through a Chennai-based firm into personal accounts. He also claimed Krishna assisted CPI-M leaders, including MV Govindan and former Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan, during their visits to London.