Autobiography controversy was planned, says EP, alleges conspiracy to malign him and CPM
Kannur: The leak of his autobiography was planned as part of a conspiracy, alleged CPM central committee member EP Jayarajan. Speaking to reporters in Kannur on Tuesday, he questioned the basis for the addition of non-existent content to a book that is not even fully written. “I have not given the copy of what I had written to anybody. I have only entrusted the task of editing to a journalist who is very close to me,” EP said.
“The journalist did his job well, and the responsibility for the leak of the text lies with DC Books alone,” he added. “The move against me is also part of an effort to destroy the party,” Jayarajan claimed.
“I have not given the copyright of my book to anyone. Nor have I given the copy of the book to anyone. There are many procedures that a publisher must complete before acquiring the rights to a book, and these have not been fulfilled here. How did the news of my book, which I have been working on, get published on the official Facebook page of DC Books without my knowledge? No publisher would usually circulate the PDF of a book before its release. Wouldn’t that affect the sales? Will any publishing house do such foolishness? This was a planned attempt to malign me and destroy the party,” EP said.
He also suggested that there was a conspiracy behind the controversy, as it emerged on the same day as the polling for the Chelakkara and Wayanad by-elections. “The news first appeared in the Times of India. Under normal circumstances, such a story would not easily appear in TOI. There was a conspiracy behind the entire plot. After the TOI report, all news channels aired it without checking the veracity of the news,” he said.
EP also addressed the controversy involving BJP leader Prakash Javadekar. “At the beginning of 2023, Prakash Javadekar met me while traveling to another destination. He said he had been given an important responsibility in his party and wanted to meet me in person as part of building relationships with other party leaders. He also mentioned that he had met Kunhalikkutty, Ramesh Chennithala, and VD Satheesan. I too said that it was a pleasure to meet him, and we bade goodbye within five minutes. But the media distorted the fact, depicting the incident as an arranged meeting between myself and Javadekar. This too was done with an intention to malign me and CPM,” he explained.
On Monday, DC Books suspended their Publications Manager AV Sreekumar in connection with the controversy. The disciplinary action was initiated due to procedural lapses regarding the proper agreement for publishing the autobiography.
Ravi DC, CEO of DC Books, said that they had not entered into an agreement with EP Jayarajan for the autobiography. The company also published a post on its official Facebook page, asserting that DC Books would always publish books by strictly adhering to procedural norms.