KOCHI: The tit-for-tat politics the CPM rank and file resort to in Kannur has a section of the party leadership worry about its larger impact on the party's future. According to a senior party leader, "the politics of revenge practiced by a section of party comrades in Kannur will not work in Kerala." "The party should have used the opportunity to unite all sections of people against the communal politics of the BJP," the leader said, decrying the murder of a BJP activist in Kannur the other day in retaliation of the murder of Mohanan, a CPM activist. "The party should have, instead, chosen to expose the murderous politics of the BJP through a campaign across the state and even other parts of the country," the leader said, seeking anonymity.
"There is no doubt that the Sangh Parivar will be determined to indulge in violence in Kannur as its political strategy in Kerala is based on portraying the CPM as a party of violence and the Congress of corruption," the leader said. "So an act of violence on the part of CPM would only help reinforce the Sangh propaganda." The party should instead work out a different strategy to counter the Sangh campaign, the leader added. The opinion reflects the growing disenchantment within the CPM leadership on the 'Kannur model' politics and is expected to be echoed at the party's top decision making body in coming days.
This section of the leadership firmly believes that the retaliatory violence by CPM in Kannur tantamounts to falling into the trap set by the BJP and Sangh Parivar. A large section of commentators in social media is critical in their opinions about the Sangh parivar politics as they are opposed to the violence unleashed by the in CPM. According to them a clear antidote to the cult of violence practiced by RSS and CPM would be a strong movement by the civil society upholding democratic values. The civil society should not permit both RSS and CPM to reduce politics in ghetto of hatred and violence, they pointed out.
