Mathrubhumi.com caught up with M V Govindan, state secretary of CPM, to discuss various issues in the context of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Excerpts from the interview:

BJP is leaving no stone unturned in its journey towards a consecutive third term at the centre. PM Modi has asked the BJP workers to ensure 370 votes more than last time in every booth. The PM told the party activists that this will be a fitting tribute to the party for neutralising Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. How prepared is the opposition line - up to counter this strategy?

PM Modi claimed recently during his visit to Kerala that BJP would get a double digit account in the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. But, BJP is not going to get a single seat from Kerala. They had made similar claims in the last assembly election. But, they lost even the sole seat they had won in 2016. They won't win any seats in Kerala. It is not because of our strength. It is because of the political stand of the Keralites. The Malayalis won't have any deal with communalism. Modi has virtually announced the arrival of Rama Rashtra while inaugurating the Ram temple at Ayodhya. RSS' Rama Rashtra is nothing but fascism.

You have pinpointed the agenda of RSS and BJP. But, the opposition seems to be divided in their approach towards the Sangh Parivar. How do you evaluate the situation?

Congress is mainly responsible for this lapse. They don't have either the capability or the imagination to take on the Sangh Parivar. There is no single party that can resist BJP at the national level as such. The Congress has failed to project an alternative to the communal politics of the BJP.

The opposition rally in Bihar a few days back was impressive. Do you see this as a silverline against this backdrop?

It is my firm belief that BJP can be ousted from power. BJP got only 37 percent of votes in the last election. That means 63% of the voters don't support the saffron party. The opposition strategy should be state specific. There has to be a strong opposition alliance in every state. BJP will find it tough to fight this formation.

The LDF faced a severe setback in the last Lok Sabha election. Your front could win only in Alappuzha. What are your expectations in the upcoming election?

The left front will record a historical victory in the next Lok Sabha election.  It was the anti BJP sentiments among the electorates that gave huge victory to Congress in Kerala in the last election. Our own campaign against the Sangh Parivar played a crucial role in this. But, the ultimate beneficiaries were Congress. People thought that they should give maximum support to Congress if Modi Govt had to be replaced at the centre. The minorities lined up behind the Congress.

Didn't Rahul's candidature at Wayanad and the Sabarimala factor also contribute to this?

Yes. All these three factors helped Congress. But, nobody believes today that Congress could form a government at the centre. Congress is in a very pathetic condition.

What is the basis of your calculations that LDF will score a greater victory in the upcoming election? Don't you see the criticism that the present Pinarayi govt is facing a huge image crisis?

We don't have an image crisis. That is the creation of the media.

Media is a mirror of society. They reflect whatever is there in the society. Isn't it the reality?

The concept that the media is the mirror of society is old. Today, the media distorts and manipulates facts.

That is your perspective?

Yes, that is my perspective.

So, you are saying that the CPM govt has no image crisis?

Yes. Only you have a crisis. Most of the media in Kerala today are functioning as agencies of finance capital. You are manufacturing your own news.

The CPM govt led by Pinarayi Vijayan has proposed that the state will welcome foreign universities. Doesn't it mean that the CPM govt is spreading a red carpet to the finance capital forces?

We have a clear cut policy on these issues.  CPM doesn't support this policy of the government.

Pinarayi Vijayan had presented a vision document for 'Nava Keralam' at the CPM state conference held in Kochi two years ago. The document stated vividly that the government will promote private universities in the state. isn't it the policy of the party?

Private universities and foreign universities are two different issues.

How will you ensure social justice including reservation to the marginalised sections in private universities?

We will ensure equal opportunities and social justice in the private universities.

So, you mean to say that CPM doesn't support the entry of foreign universities into the state?

Yes. We don't support foreign universities.

Does that mean the state govt was wrong in taking such a step?

No. Indian society is essentially a capitalist society. We don't have a real democratic, people oriented regime here. The Narendra Modi govt is a tool of the capitalists and the feudal landlords. CPM formed a government in Kerala because it won a majority in the assembly which is part of the federal structure. The CPM government has that limitation.

Do you mean to say that the policy on the foreign universities reflects this limitation?

Yes.

Shouldn't the party have the integrity to correct such policies?

We need not correct these. It is beyond our mandate.
 

It demands more clarity. You are saying that CPM govt has limitations in many issues including that of the foreign universities. But why do you maintain that the party doesn't have the responsibility to correct such erroneous policies of the government?

It cannot be corrected in the present system. Pinarayi govt is not a socialist govt and Kerala is not a sovereign, independent republic. Kerala is part of the central govt which protects the interests of the finance capital. The first ever communist govt in a state was formed under the leadership of EMS in 1957 in Kerala. EMS made it clear then that we had certain limitations. He clarified that people shouldn't mistake his government to be an administration that could implement all the programmes of the communist party. But his government could take many steps that could bring relief to the struggling masses. The EMS ministry brought in the bill to stop eviction of the tenants on the 6th day after assuming power.

EMS had famously stated that the party could manage power and struggle at the same time. The government will move in its own direction while the party will take up people's issues and fight for them. Here the question is if the party is running away from the responsibility to correct its own govt when the govt makes a wrong move. Is the party refusing to be held accountable for the mistakes of the govt including the controversy surrounding the masappadi scandal (Veena Vijayan, the CM's daughter  has been accused of receiving monthly payment to the tune of Re 1.72 crores from the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd without rendering any services.)

I shall answer this clearly. You are raising these questions in order to confuse the general public.

It is our responsibility to ask questions. Isn't the media supposed to do that?

Certainly. The Kerala govt is part of the central govt. It doesn't have a separate, independent existence of its own.  The central govt has introduced a new education policy which emphasises globalisation. The key element  of globalisation is privatisation. CPM and Kerala govt don’t accept this total privatisation. At the same time, we can't avoid private capital completely since we are part of the system. But, we will ensure social justice while promoting private capital.  Your second point was related to 'masappadi' that is basically a media creation.

How come that the media created the masappadi controversy?

It is your creation.

How does it become our creation? We only brought the scandal out into the public?

Media only twisted the remuneration paid to the Exalogic as masappadi.

CMRL gave Re 1.72 crores to the Exalogic Consulting company, which is owned by Veena Vijayan, the daughter of CM Pinarayi Vijayan for rendering software services. But the Income Tax resettlement board found out that there were no documents to prove that the required services were delivered by the company. The question is what services were provided by the company for the payment?

That is their vested interest. Many other people have been given crores of rupees. But no action has been taken against them. That shows their hidden motive.

How can you justify one wrong with another wrong?

I have not justified one wrong with another wrong.

The controversy will be over the moment Exalogic produces documents of the services provided. Why doesn't the company do that?

The investigation is going on. Let them complete it.

But, the fact remains that Exalogic has not been able to present any proof for the services provided to CMRL. Can they create any documents out of vacuum?

That is a contract between two companies. CPM has no role here. But, we will resist the move to drag Pinarayi Vijayan into this.

Pinarayi is under scanner because Veena Vijayan, the MD of Exalogic is his daughter. The allegation is that Rs 1.72 crore money was paid for services provided by the Pinarayi govt to CMRL?

Let the investigations be over. The left front has surmounted many such allegations in the past. Don't forget that the people of Kerala elected the left govt for a second term in spite of many such allegations.

Will this election be an assessment of the CPM govt?

Definitely. It will be an assessment of the state govt even if we win or not.

How do you look at the Pookode veterinary college murder? Sidharthan, the young student, was tortured for three days continously. Still, noone brought it up to the notice of the authorities concerned. What do you attribute this political decay to?

I don't think the political realm has decayed. There was an incident in the college, which led to the conflict. SFI activists are not the only culprits here. There are others who belong to different political organisations. But, the media have put the focus on SFI. We have categorically stated that all  the accused should be brought before law. We won't protect anyone who is involved in this heinous assault. That is the approach of the Congress. It was K Sudhakaran, the KPCC president, who tried to protect Paily, the number one accused in the Dheeraj murder case in Idukki engineering college. Pookode shouldn't be repeated elsewhere. That is our stand from the very beginning.

CPM justified the brutal murder of TP Chandrasekharan in 2012. Many other brutal assaults were vehemently justified. Don't you think that the Pookode murder is a fallout of all these past incidents?

We have never justified TP murder. We resisted the move to fabricate evidence to put P Mohanan, the CPIM Kozhikode district secretary, in the dock. The Kerala High Court has made the observation that there was a criminal conspiracy to do the same.

You are ruling out any kind of an image crisis for the CPM govt. What are your expectations with regards to the upcoming election?

We will win all the 20 seats in Kerala.

There are allegations that CPM has put up certain candidates with a hidden agenda?

The allegations are baseless.

Why has CPM fielded KK Shailaja in Vadakara and K Radhakrishnan in Alathur?  The allegation is that CPM wants to marginalise these two leaders who have the potential to be future chief ministers?

This election is really crucial to us. We can't take any risks here. We want to win as many seats as possible. Therefore, we have fielded the most capable candidates across Kerala.

There were reports that M Swaraj would be  fielded in Palakkad. But that has not been done. Is there any specific reason for this?

That shouldn't worry you. There will be many more elections where Swaraj can contest.

KK Shailaja has been viewed by many as a woman leader who has Chief minister material. Why is the party packing her off to the centre?

We have definite plans for the future. Marxism means concrete reaction to concrete situations. The most important issue right now before us is the victory in the Lok Sabha election. The nation itself is at the brink of a political crisis. BJP must be defeated in order to save the Indian Republic. We have deployed the most suitable candidates for this goal.

The Indian Communist movement came into existence in 1920. The RSS was formed five years later. Now, after a hundred years, the RSS has become a huge movement which could control the Indian polity decisively whereas the communist movement finds itself drastically weakened. What is your take on this scenario?

This is the last phase of RSS. Lenin had pointed out that imperialism is the last stage of capitalism. People do realise matters very well. Communalism is like a flower pot. It  produces instant light. But, its life span is short. The same fate is awaiting RSS. The deadly cocktail of hindutva and corporate oligarchies is fuelling RSS right now. But, they won't survive much longer. The communist movement may seem to be weak for the time being. But, more and more people will realise the relevance of the party in the coming days. You will soon witness a greater people's movement against hindutva and neo liberalism in the country.