Mysterious attacks embarrass ruling CPM in Kerala

This will especially embarrass Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as he heads the home portfolio in the state

Repeated attacks on CPI(M) offices in Kerala and the failure of the police in nabbing the accused in some key incidents are causing much embarrassment to the ruling party, especially Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as he heads the home portfolio in the state.

Allegations that these attacks are manipulated are gaining ground. Even the recent attacks on CPM offices and houses of party leaders in Thiruvananthapuram face allegations of being manipulated by the CPM.

Even the party state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan recently stated that criticism against the Home department came up in the party-state leadership meeting. Other parties in the Left Front are also flaying lapses in law and order in the state.

The latest among the dubious attacks were at the CPM Thiruvananthapuram district committee office late Friday, followed by an attack on party district secretary Anavoor Nagappan's house late Saturday. While the CPM blamed the attack on BJP-RSS, BJP leaders were staging a counter-campaign that the attacks were the outcome of the internal rifts in the CPM. Police saved the face of the party as a couple of student activists of BJP were nabbed in connection with the CPM district office attack.

The attack on the CPM state office AKG Centre took place on the night of June 30, hardly a week after the attack on Rahul Gandhi's Wayanad office. CPM top leaders swiftly alleged that it was a retaliation by Congress. But even after nearly two months, the police could not nab the real culprit despite receiving CCTV footage of the person hurling the country bomb.

The attack on preacher Sandeepananda Giri's ashram took place in October 2018, amidst tensions in the state over allowing women at Sabarimala Ayyappa temple. CPM leaders alleged that the attack was a politically motivated retaliation as Giri backed the CPM government's decision to implement court order allowing women of all ages at Sabarimala. But even after nearly four years, the culprits are not arrested.