THIRUVANANTHPAURAM: The state CPM and CPI leaders continued their sparring over the question of split in the united communist party and its fallout on the left movement in the country.
CPI state secretary Pannyan Raveendran reiterated that the 1964 split was a disaster. “It is good that this issue has become part of political discourse. This is the right time for such discussions,” he said.
“History has proved that the majority of the people opposed the split. The votes that the united communist party secured could not be achieved by the two parties separately. After the split, the communist parties got just 27 per cent votes while before the split the party had secured 35 per cent. This clearly shows that post-split, the people had started moving away from the communist parties in a big way,’’ he said.
He said it was not his party that brought back the issue of merger of communist parties. “My views are not for insulting the CPM. The two communist parties are like brothers and they may have differences of opinion on various issues. But that does not mean we are against each other. CPM has the right to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its formation and if they invite us we will also join the celebrations,” he said.
When asked about an article in the CPM mouthpiece ‘Deshabhimani’ hailing the split, Mr Pannyan said, “You will find the reply in tomorrow’s Janayugam, the mouthpiece of CPI.’’
Meanwhile, CPM politburo member Koidiyeri Balakrishnan rejected Mr Pannyan Raveendran’s statement that the 1964 split was a disaster. He said the communist movement had gained strength after the parting of ways of the two parties. “It is only Pannyan’s personal opinion,’’ he said countering the CPI leader’s argument that the Left movement had become weak after the split.
