Thrissur,05 July (HS):

CPM Kerala State Secretary M.V. Govindan on Saturday distanced the party from senior leader M.V. Jayarajan's recent remarks suggesting that expelled leaders could be welcomed back into the party if they corrected their mistakes, asserting that such a statement did not reflect the CPM's official position.

Addressing reporters in Thrissur, Govindan said leaders who had left the party had betrayed both the organisation and its ideology, and reiterated that the CPM had consistently treated such actions as acts of political and class betrayal.

Those who deserted the party deceived it. It was a betrayal of the party and its class ideology. The party has clearly identified and criticised such actions, Govindan said. He specifically referred to former CPM leaders G. Sudhakaran, T.K. Govindan and Kunjikrishnan, who later aligned with the United Democratic Front (UDF), saying they had abandoned the party and were now part of the opposition alliance.

Govindan was responding to comments made by M.V. Jayarajan during a television interview, in which the senior CPM leader said that the Communist Party has always followed the principle of accepting back those who genuinely acknowledge and rectify their mistakes.

While rejecting Jayarajan's formulation as the party's official stand, Govindan acknowledged that self-correction is a universal principle. If a person sincerely corrects his mistakes, cooperation is possible. The Communist Party has always believed in self-correction, and in that sense anyone who genuinely changes can be accepted. But the statement made by Jayarajan is not the party's position, he clarified.

Govindan also dismissed suggestions that internal factionalism was emerging within the CPM under senior leader M.A. Baby, describing such reports as baseless speculation.

Referring to the CPM's defeats in the Thaliparamba and Payyanur Assembly constituencies, Govindan said the party had already conducted a thorough self-critical review of the electoral setbacks. He added that the CPM was under no obligation to respond to every opinion expressed on television debates.

The controversy erupted after Jayarajan publicly admitted that the CPM leadership had erred in selecting candidates for the recent Assembly elections. In an interview with Kannur Vision, he said shortcomings in candidate selection had contributed to the party's defeats in Payyanur and Thaliparamba. Jayarajan argued that the outcome in Payyanur could have been different had another candidate been fielded and maintained that if leaders such as T.K. Govindan and Kunjikrishnan were willing to return after correcting their mistakes, the Communist Party should not shut its doors on them.

Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman