Differences flare-up in Left Front in Kerala

A strong difference has flared up among the leading parties in the Left Front in Kerala — the CPI(M) and the CPI — over a CPI(M) MLA’s remarks against the wife of a political killing victim.

The remarks of CPI(M) MLA and former minister M M Mani in the Assembly that Opposition MLA K K Rema “lost her husband because of her fate” triggered a row, especially since local CPI(M) leaders were involved in the killing of her husband — the dissident CPI(M) leader T P Chandrasekharan. The killing happened in 2012.

Rema is now an Opposition MLA representing the Revolutionary Marxist Party that Chandrasekharan floated after breaking away from the CPI(M) owing to differences with the party-state leadership.

While CPI(M) leaders in Kerala were backing Mani despite strong protests by the Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front, senior CPI leaders, including National Federation of Indian Women general-secretary Annie Raja, and Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam, flayed the CPI(M) MLA’s remarks.

The differences aggravated further with Mani scorning Annie’s statement, adding that she might only look into Delhi affairs. The CPI state leadership, which is often alleged of falling to the diktats of the CPI(M) despite differences on various issues, was learnt to have flayed the party national leaders for making statements on state issues without consulting the state unit.

The differences within the ruling front came out when the state Assembly session is progressing. Hence, the Opposition Congress, which staged protests in the Assembly over the issue over the last two days, might use the stand of CPI leaders to attack the ruling front.