No compromise with communalism: K Muraleedharan

Congress leader K Muraleedharan opens up in a conversation with Mathrubhumi.com on his fight in Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency where he is engaged in a triangular fight with VS Sunil Kumar of LDF and BJP's Suresh Gopi.

It appears that Congress turns towards you whenever the party is in a crisis. The party came to you when Mullappally Ramachandran withdrew from Vadakara in 2019. After two years the party approached you again to contest from Nemom where BJP was holding its lone seat. And now the party has again come to you to retain Thrissur. Are you the crisis manager (CM) of the Congress?

I am just doing what the party tells me to do. I am here to help my party. When my sister Padmaja joined the BJP, that created some confusion in the public. So, the party felt that I must contest from Thrissur to remove those confusions. I have come to Thrissur to retain the seat for the party.

You had invested so much of your time, energy and MP funds in Vadakara during the last five years. Were you a little reluctant to shift from Vadakara?

Yes. Initially It was really painful. I have such an intense relationship with Vadakara.

Were you really confident that you could win from Vadakara for a second term?

Certainly! We have done so much work there. Even the dates for the election convention were decided. But, everything turned upside down when Padamja left Congress.

Did you ask for some more time to think over the party's decision?

I spoke with some of my friends. They were not that enthusiastic about the party stand.  Everyone felt that Vadakara was a sure bet. But, then I thought that I must do what the party instructed. My father, late K Karunakaran, had a special bonding with Thrissur. And there is this history that both of us were defeated in Thrissur in 1996 and 1998 respectively. So, I took it as an opportunity to script a new chapter.

What really went wrong in 1996 and 1998?

Those were the times when Congress was beset with groupism. It was like a party within another party. The people of Kerala were really fed up with this. But then, I must add that Karunakaran was defeated mainly because of his negligence.

You have faced 12 elections so far and won half of them and lost the rest. Of those defeats, which one rattled you the most? Was it the one in 2004?

In fact I was not responsible for that defeat. It was the high command that instructed me to quit from the post of the KPCC president and become a minister in the state cabinet.

But there were allegations that it was your intense desire to become a minister that led to your downfall?

Never. The High Command only took the decision. But in hindsight I think that I should have rejected the offer of ministership and contested from a Lok Sabha seat. If I had done so the political scenario would have been different for me.

There is a critique that the Congress is treading the path of soft hindutva these days. What is your response?

There is no relevance for soft hindutva. Hinduism means acceptance of all religions. There is a passage in Ramayana, where Sumitra refers to Rama. That is considered as the most significant sentence in the epic. She tells Lakshman that Ayodhya is where Rama is. If Rama is in a forest, that forest becomes Ayodhya. But, what happened here?  A 450-year- old mosque was demolished to construct a temple. If the temple was built adjacent to the mosque that would have been more appropriate. Rajiv Gandhi was for this. But, that didn't materialise. We must remember here that emperor Babur was not a religious fanatic. He respected all religions. In fact, he was invited to invade India by people who included the Hindus. RSS tried to religionise this history. Rahul Gandhi was the first national political leader, who reached Manipur, when the state was burning. The Indian constitution provides equal space to all religions. We are here to protect these rights enshrined in the constitution.

You have stated that the main fight in Thrissur is between the UDF and the LDF. But EP Jayarajan, the LDF convener has asserted that in some constituencies the battle is mainly between the LDF and the BJP. What is your take on this?

This only shows the unholy relationship between the BJP and the CPM.

But, Pinarayi Vijayan has dismissed this statement by Jayarajan?

The CM was forced to correct because of the reaction of the public. Jayarajan can never say such a thing without the consent of the CM. But when there was a huge backlash CPM had to retract. We must take note of one factor here. Why is it that Pinarayi Vijayan, who never fails to question Rahul Gandhi, is not raising a single question to the PM? Because,  the scandal surrounding his daughter frightens him. BJP knows how to silence Pinarayi Vijayan with such tactics.

The CPM has taken a stand against the electoral bonds. The party made it clear that the electoral bonds were opaque and went to court against these. How do you look at this?

It is sheer hypocrisy. Remember CPM received funds from the same Santiago Martin, who bought most of the electoral bonds. They are against the bonds but they have no issues in receiving cash. Tell me how the CPM has amassed so much wealth?

Even though you were defeated at Nemom three years back your political graph really went up?

Yes. It proved beyond doubt that there was no undercurrent between the Congress and the BJP.

But, still rumours are floating in the air that you may switch over to the saffron camp anytime in future?

That is the handiwork of the Sangh Parivar. There are people who would not believe even if you rip your heart open. I travelled along with Rahul Gandhi a distance of 474 kilometres during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. If I had any intention to join the BJP, would I have participated in the yatra? What will I get if I join the BJP?

BJP doesn't have a popular leader like you in Kerala. Has BJP or RSS approached you anytime with any offer?

No. They wouldn't dare approach me. They know my political stand. There was a time when I was not with the Congress. Even then I had not made any compromise with the BJP.  I returned to Congress after giving a written apology. I will have no business with the RSS.

You were the main reason why BJP lost their sole seat in the assembly. So, are you a special target of the Sangh Parivar?

Yes. They would go to any extent to ensure my defeat. I had information that If I had contested from Vadakara they would have cross voted in favour of the CPM candidate. That is why they have fielded a weak candidate like Praful Krishna in the constituency. But I was sure that I could tackle BJP's underhand dealings and retain the constituency.

So, you had a fear that BJP would have cross voted in Vadakara against you?

It was not fear. But I was damn sure that they would do the dirty trick.

There is an observation that quite often you land in trouble because of your outspokenness. Have you ever had any introspection over this?

I have never felt anything wrong about it. I always speak my mind out. Otherwise I will be a hypocrite.

UDF won 19 seats out of 20 in 2019. Can the front repeat the performance? The LDF is claiming that they will win more seats this time.

They won't gain anything. Our goal is 20 out of 20. It is up to the people of Kerala to take the decision.