Kochi: CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran, making a tight-rope walk on the issue of police lathi-charge against party workers in Kochi, met Eldho Abraham, MLA, who was injured in the incident on Friday after making a strategic retreat by saying that he had never given a clean chit to the police on the issue.
In a brief informal chat with media persons in Kochi, Mr Rajendran said the police acted atrociously against the party workers.
Explaining his controversial remarks that ‘cops never entered anyone’s home to beat’, the CPI leader stated he made the comment in reply to media persons’ question whether the incident took place as result of conspiracy by the police.
The CPI leader made the clarification even as a section of the party leaders are fuming against him for allegedly soft-pedaling the lathi-charge issue.
Sources familiar with developments in the CPI say that a section of the party leadership opposed to Mr Rajendran has exacerbated the issue to settle scores with him. Ernakulam district secretary P Raju, never in the good books of Mr Rajendran, has been blamed by leaders close to the state secretary for precipitating the issue into a crisis like situation. These leaders point out that the CPI district leadership made no serious efforts to discuss the matter with the CPM district leadership and sort-out the issues.
They are also bitter that opponents of Mr Rajendran are trying to spread an impression that he had surrendered before the CPM and failed to keep the best interests of the CPI in the matter.
Mr Abraham told reporters after his meeting with Mr Rajendran that he would wait for the collector to submit his report to government before making further comments. He iterated that he stood by his criticism of the police.
