Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

CPI to quit Cabinet if need be

Photo: C. Ratheesh kumar

Tough talking: CPI leaders K.E. Ismail, Veliyam Bhargavan and C. Divakaran coming out of the AKG Centre in Thiruvananthapuram after a meeting of the Left Democratic Front on Thursday. —

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Communist Party of India (CPI) State secretary Veliyam Bhargavan has said his party would pull out of the LDF Cabinet if the CPI(M) did not give up its proposal to field an Independent for the Ponnani Lok Sabha seat.

“They must withdraw Husein Randathani in Ponnani and apologise. We are not prepared for any other compromise. If need be, we will pull out of the Cabinet and contest in all seats except those belonging to the Kerala Congress (J) and Janata Dal (Secular). I have asked the [party] Ministers to get ready to quit,” Mr. Bhargavan told The Hindu in an exclusive interview after the Left Democratic Front (LDF) State committee meeting failed to find a way forward in the seat-sharing talks that have got mired in a dispute between the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and CPI over the Ponnani seat.

“It will not look good if they are to continue after we put up candidates in all the constituencies,” he explained.

“They must learn from the experience of 1965. They could come back to power only with our help after the split in the party. Since we are being offered only three seats, we might as well forget them and fight in all the seats except those belonging to the Kerala Congress and Janata Dal. I have already asked all the district councils to identify candidates for the remaining seats,” an agitated CPI State secretary said.

Asked whether it was proper to rock the coalition, Mr. Bhargavan retorted that it was the CPI(M) which was trying to break it up.

“They have been taking away seats held by alliance partners in successive elections. First, they took the seats held by the Congress (S), then those of the Janata Dal and later of the RSP [Revolutionary Socialist Party]. Now they are trying to take the sitting seat of the Janata Dal and Ponnani which we have been contesting over the years. We will not allow this to continue,” he added.

He also came down heavily on what he termed the surrender of LDF’s principles before certain communal interests and pointed out that the front was built up on the principle of secularism and democracy on which there could be no compromise.

To a question whether there was any attempt by the Central leaderships of the two parties to intervene and break the deadlock, he said his party leadership had been told that there was no necessity for any such intervention as the situation in the State arose only because of the ‘unreasonable’ demands of the CPI(M).

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