'Real class betrayer': Ex-Marxist leader G Sudhakaran demands ouster of Kerala CPM secretary

Alappuzha: Launching a scathing attack on CPM state secretary M V Govindan, Independent MLA and former Marxist leader G Sudhakaran on Monday labelled him the "real betrayer of the working class" and demanded his immediate ouster following the party's recent electoral losses.

Sudhakaran’s fierce retaliation follows Govindan's controversial assertion that individuals who split from the CPM were "class betrayers”, though he added they could return if they rectified their errors. Govindan's statement was a reaction to an interview by senior leader M V Jayarajan, who acknowledged candidate selection errors in certain seats and extended an olive branch to former party members willing to self-correct.

Clarifying the context, Sudhakaran noted that Jayarajan was referring to rebel candidates who succeeded in the Payyannur and Taliparamba Assembly constituencies.

"Even then, the party secretary chose to target me," Sudhakaran said. "Govindan doesn't know what 'class betrayal' means or what class is. He thinks he is a literary person because of the baseless label given to him by the media," he charged.

Declaring Govindan incompetent to lead the state unit, Sudhakaran asserted, "My opinion is that he should either resign from the post or the party should remove him." He added that while the party's core values have degraded, lakhs of people still hold deep affection for the CPM. "Govindan is occupying the top post but is working against the party. His intention is to destroy the party," he alleged.

Highlighting the recent Assembly election setbacks, Sudhakaran pointed out that the opposition UDF managed to capture five seats in Govindan's native district of Kannur, an outcome the state secretary seemingly ignored.

Flatly rejecting the label of a defector, Sudhakaran maintained he had never compromised the interests of labourers or farmers.

"The working class and farmers are the CPM's class. Anyone who pleases the capitalist, imperialist or bourgeois class against the interests of workers is the real class betrayer. Theoretically and practically, Govindan is the class betrayer. He has betrayed the working class," Sudhakaran argued.

He further clarified his political status, explaining that he was neither expelled nor had he formally resigned; he simply chose to let his party membership lapse.

"The party constitution itself allows a member to leave the party. I did not cite any political reason for leaving. I simply chose not to renew my membership and the party accepted it. How does that become class betrayal?" he asked.

Sudhakaran emphasised his long-standing loyalty, noting, "I joined the party during the days of A K Gopalan and E M S Namboodiripad. Govindan was not even in the party then. Until the very end, I never uttered a word against him."

Blaming Govindan's leadership for the Marxist party's shrinking electoral footprint, which saw the CPM reduced to a single Lok Sabha seat in Kerala, Sudhakaran questioned the party's double standards.

"If the Congress is a 'muddy stream', as some claim, how did the CPM and CPI win four Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu? They also won a seat in Rajasthan with Congress support. In Kerala, the party managed to win only one seat on its own strength. It is Govindan who reduced the party to this position," he said.

Confirming his status as an Independent MLA unaffiliated with either the ruling UDF or the Opposition LDF, he said, "I am neither with the LDF nor the UDF. But if the Chief Minister brings good measures for the people, I will support them."

When questioned about rumours regarding an emerging internal faction led by M A Baby and K N Balagopal, Sudhakaran dismissed any firsthand knowledge but remarked that Baby would naturally be distressed by the party's current decline in Kerala.

"He is the party's national general secretary. He has not conveyed any such concern to me personally, but it would be only natural. As the party's national general secretary, he is in a powerful position. Let him examine whether what I am saying is right," Sudhakaran said.

Concluding his critique, Sudhakaran said Govindan lacked the strategic depth and vision required for the role. "He cannot correct himself. Since becoming state secretary, he has not brought any revival to the party. Is that what a party secretary should be?" he asked.

PTI