Sivankutty hits back at CPI’s attack on Pinarayi, deepening LDF rift in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: The simmering differences between the CPI(M) and its second-largest LDF partner, the CPI, have erupted into an unusually public confrontation, with senior CPI(M) leader, V. Sivankutty, on Tuesday hitting back at CPI Assistant Secretary Sathyam Mokeri’s sharp criticism of Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan over the Deputy Leader of the Opposition issue.

Sivankutty accused the CPI of violating political propriety and alleged that it was the CPI, rather than Pinarayi, that had acted against the norms of alliance politics, IANS reported.

He also termed it unfortunate that Mokeri’s criticism had appeared in the CPI mouthpiece 'Janayugom' on Tuesday, saying the CPI was behaving like a party unwilling to strengthen the LDF.

Defending Pinarayi’s decision to nominate a CPI(M) leader as Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Sivankutty said the Opposition Leader’s action was democratic and pointed out that the post had traditionally been held by the CPI(M).

There was, therefore, no reason to change the existing arrangement, he argued.

Sivankutty’s response came after Mokeri launched an unusually pointed attack on Pinarayi, accusing him of violating alliance norms and the political ethics expected in a coalition.

Mokeri argued that the Deputy Leader’s post was a political issue that could not be decided unilaterally by the Opposition Leader, particularly when discussions between the CPI and CPI(M), including at the national leadership level, were still underway.

Mokeri questioned Pinarayi’s public assertion that he alone would send the name of the Deputy Leader to the Speaker, asking what had prompted such a unilateral declaration when the issue had not figured in the discussions between the two parties.

The CPI leader also recalled that LDF Convenor T.P. Ramakrishnan had met CPI State Secretary Binoy Viswam at the M.N. Smarakam and that there had been an understanding that the dispute over the Deputy Leader should not obstruct the functioning of the front.

The LDF meeting that followed, chaired by Pinarayi himself, had agreed on joint preparations for the soon-to-be-held local body bye-elections and strengthening the front's organisational machinery.

Mokeri invoked Communist leader Georgi Dimitrov’s doctrine of united front politics to argue that alliances should be based on equality, mutual respect, consultation and consensus rather than unilateral decisions.

He warned that attempts to impose the preferences of an individual leader on Left politics could weaken the LDF and ultimately benefit the BJP and Sangh Parivar.

The exchange is significant because it brings into the open a disagreement between the CPI(M), which leads the LDF, and the CPI, its second-largest constituent, at a time when the Opposition front is seeking to regroup after its electoral setback.

Sivankutty, one of the CPI(M)’s most prominent leaders in Thiruvananthapuram district and a former Cabinet colleague of Pinarayi, is himself a former Nemom MLA who lost the constituency to BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar in the recent Assembly election.

What began as a disagreement over a single Opposition post has now widened into a debate over who decides within the LDF and what equality and collective leadership should mean in the Left alliance.