CPM Kerala Secretary MV Govindan has firmly rejected any soft approach towards party rebels, explicitly describing their actions as “class betrayal” and stating that they will continue to be criticised as class betrayers.
Speaking to the media in Thrissur on Sunday, Govindan said that rebel party leaders who contested the Assembly elections with the support of the United Democratic Front (UDF) had committed “class betrayal.” However, he added that they could be readmitted to the party if they correct their mistakes.
Former CPM leaders V Kunhikrishnan, TK Govindan and G. Sudhakaran contested the Assembly elections with UDF support in Payyanur, Taliparamba and Ambalapuzha constituencies, respectively, and won.
Responding to reporters’ questions about recent remarks by senior CPM leader M.V. Jayarajan, who had said that the party made mistakes in candidate selection in some constituencies and that those who contested with UDF support could be taken back if they returned after correcting their mistakes, Govindan said that the actions of V. Kunhikrishnan, T.K. Govindan, and G. Sudhakaran in abandoning the party leadership and winning Assembly seats with UDF support amounted to absolute betrayal. However, he reiterated that they could be taken back into the party fold if they correct their mistakes.
While maintaining that the party would continue to criticise their actions, Govindan invoked a universal communist principle, saying that anyone who genuinely corrects their political course and mistakes can be reinducted into the party.
The statement served as a direct rebuke to CPM State Secretariat member MV Jayarajan, who had earlier suggested during a television interview that the party could welcome the rebel leaders back if they corrected their mistakes.
Jayarajan had publicly advocated a more conciliatory approach towards the rebels. He acknowledged shortcomings in the party’s candidate selection in regions such as Payyanur and Paliparamba, arguing that isolating former comrades over political differences was not the party’s tradition.
Govindan quickly dismissed Jayarajan’s remarks, asserting that they did not reflect any new organisational decision. Following the public rebuke, Jayarajan appeared to align his position with Govindan’s, intensifying his criticism of the rebels and asking them to clarify their stand on the current UDF administration.
Meanwhile, the rebel leaders have categorically rejected the “class betrayer” label, instead blaming the party leadership. Rebel MLA TK Govindan, who won from Taliparamba constituency, publicly asserted that he had committed no mistakes.
He argued that it was the CPM leadership that needed to introspect, learn from its Assembly election debacle, and correct its own mistakes to avoid meeting the same political fate as the party did in West Bengal.