No apology from CPM’s Balan over Jamaat comments; says ready to go to jail
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Photo: Express
Palakkad: Senior CPM leader A K Balan on Saturday made it clear that he would not apologise for his remarks linking Jamaat-e-Islami to the Marad communal violence, and said he was ready to face imprisonment if that was the outcome of any legal action against him.
Responding to a legal notice from Jamaat-e-Islami seeking ₹1 crore in damages, Balan said he would submit a reply within a week, but categorically ruled out offering an unconditional apology or paying compensation. He indicated that he would accept a jail term if the courts ultimately decided so.
Pointing to his long political past, Balan said that court cases and imprisonment were not new experiences for him. He recalled that he had spent 30 days in Kannur Central Jail during his student days for participating in the land struggle, and had also been remanded earlier in connection with the NGO teachers’ agitation, TNIE reported.
The CPM leader dismissed the allegations against him as baseless and politically motivated. He alleged that the legal notice was part of a calculated attempt to tarnish his image and that of the CPM by projecting him as anti-minority. He said his public life of over six decades was being targeted through fabricated accusations aimed at defaming both him and his party.
In its notice, Jamaat-e-Islami has sought the withdrawal of Balan’s statement and demanded ₹1 crore as compensation, terming his remarks defamatory.
Explaining his reference to the Marad violence, Balan said his comments were intended to stress the importance of maintaining communal harmony. He argued that social peace would be protected only under an LDF government and that his remarks were meant to warn against the dangers to communal harmony if any political front came to power with the support of communal forces. He said his broader point was that any party relying on communal backing would damage communal harmony.
Meanwhile, Minister M B Rajesh defended Balan, stating that incidents of communal riots in Kerala had taken place during UDF regimes.