Kerala CPM on defensive as more fund misappropriation allegations surface ahead of polls

Thiruvananthapuram: Back to back allegations of misappropriation of party funds, especially those collected in the name of martyrs, have put the CPM in Kerala on the defensive, that too just ahead of the crucial assembly polls.

Close on the heels of the alleged misappropriation of funds in party citadel Kannur snowballing into a major row, the family of a martyr in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday came out with the allegation of martyr fund misappropriation. In both instances the party is also accused of protecting the accused.

The resentment among the party workers already started coming out as many openly supported expelled whistle blower V Kunhikrishnan, who was a former district committee member of the party at Payyannur in Kannur.

There are also reports that party workers had already sought clarity on the allegations against Payyannur MLA T I Madhusoodanan at some local committee meeting in Kannur.

Sources close to the party said that the misappropriation of funds raised in the name of martyrs could emotionally affect workers at the grassroot levels, unless the party comes out with  convincing replies. 

Despite Kunhikrishnan alleging that around Rs. 46 lakh was misappropriated from the funds collected for supporting the family of C V Dhanarajan, who was hacked to death allegedly by BJP-RSS workers in 2016, as well as building and election funds, party district secretary K K Ragesh is unwilling to make public the accounts, sources point out.

On Thursday, the brother of CPM worker V V Vishnu, who was murdered in Thiruvananthapuram in 2008 allegedly by BJP-RSS workers, came out with the allegation that even as the party collected Rs. 10 lakh in the name of Vishnu, only Rs. five lakh was handed over to his mother. Vishnu's brother Vinod also said that a local leader involved in the misappropriation was still being protected by the party.

CPM Thiruvananthapuram district secretary V Joy came out with a justification that Rs. five lakh was kept apart for meeting the legal expenses of the case.

The ruling CPM-led Left Democratic Front is already facing a setback following the weak performance in the recent local body polls. Hence the fund misappropriation allegations that surfaced ahead of the assembly polls  have become a cause for concern for the party, especially since Kerala is the  lone state where the party is now in power.