Periya Twin Murders: CPM explaining it (within the party) as retaliation against attacks

Kozhikode: Even as the CPM condemns in public the twin murders in Periya, Kasargode district,  the leadership is at pains to explain within the party circles that the killing was a retaliatory act against years of assault on party workers in the area.  The explanation of the area leadership along these linees,  has been conveyed by the district body to the state leadership.

It was following this exercise that the party which at first denounced and disowned the accused Peethambaran,  a local committee member,  later switched to a policy of protecting him.   However,  both party state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan,  and chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan have been taking a stand in public against the twin murders.

Even after the family of Peethambaran in effect blamed the party,  the state secretary's response to it was that it was a sentimental reaction.   At the same time,  since Thursday,  there has been some departure in the responses given by CPM.   And minister EP Jayarajan's comment that the people should come to know also about Congressmen's attacks was in this context.

The areas of Kallyottu and Echiladukkam in Pullur-Periya Panchayat have a Congress hegemony ruling there.   CPM is trying to explain among party's rank and file the context in which the Congress has been using violence to block the activities of other parties.  And Kallyottu is the area were Congress has the strongest presence in the panchayat.

In earlier times,  CPM had suffered a headache of repeated attacks on their offices,  workers and sympathisers.  And the most recent incident of the assault on local committee member A Peethambaran and sympathiser Surendran had created anguish in the party.  It was at a meeting held on 7 January to protest against this trend that CPP Musthafa, a member of district secretariat made a speech challenging Congress for murder.  He had spoken in a threatening tone, mentioning the names of Congress leaders.

Although CPM went on the defensive when the highlights of the speech were leaked out,  the leadership is of the ill-conceived view that the people could also come to know about the violence by Congress.  In the context of Lok Sabha elections coming soon, the CPM workers may try to give a message in the campaign and at family meets that the Kallyottu murder is something that should never have happened,   there is a decision to also explain the background leading to the murders.