My meeting with Javedkar lasted for just 5 minutes, says E P Jayarajan | Interview

For the past two days, there has been a lot of talk within the political discourse of Kerala about a meeting between CPM leader E P Jayarajan and BJP leader Prakash Javadekar. Jayarajan clarified in a conversation with Mathrubhumi representative P P Saseendran that no politics were discussed in that meeting which took place over a year ago. However, the opposition seems to have blown it out of proportion following a planned script, he said.

About a year ago, Dallal Nandakumar visited my son's flat in Akkulam, Thiruvananthapuram, accompanied by someone else, on March 5, 2023. It coincided with my grandson's birthday, which is why I remember the day well. They arrived as I was preparing to depart for a party meeting. Despite a brief introduction, there were no political discussions, and they left as I was preoccupied. I left for the meeting soon after.

There has been nothing but small talk. If someone walks into your house unexpectedly, can you simply ask them to leave?  The meeting lasted for no more than five minutes, and they didn't even stay for tea.

He is a fraud who makes up stories for personal gains. I only realized his true nature later. He is someone who will do anything for money. There were some financial dealings between him and BJP’s Sobha Surendran. When it soured, my name got dragged into it. During the Thrikkakara by-elections, Nandakumar used to come often and canvass for votes. It was through this association that I found myself invited to a temple ceremony in Vennala, Kochi. Murali, a former DCC secretary and later a CPM member, invited me. Prof K V Thomas was also present. At the event, the organizers requested me to honour an elderly woman with ‘ponada’. At that time, I didn't know she was Nandakumar’s mother. However, the current controversy seems to be a calculated ploy by the UDF. Some media outlets that support UDF are also involved in the conspiracy.

Well, I had disclosed that KPCC president K Sudhakaran had engaged in discussions with Raja in Tamil Nadu to join BJP. In retaliation, UDF leadership paid money to Nandakumar and exploited this to stir up controversy. Their initial plan was to target others. They brought Swapna Suresh from Bengaluru to Kerala for this purpose. They even hoped that some CPM leaders might get arrested over the Karuvannur issue. However, when their plans collapsed, I became the target. Some BJP leaders had attempted to field Nandakumar against Sobha Surendran. This led to friction between Nandakumar and Sobha. Shobha, then, implicated me to trap Nandakumar. Even though both of them had an initial fallout, they've now turned against me. Brokers like Nandakumar resort to blackmailing anyone for money.

What am I supposed to do? Is it my responsibility to respond to someone like Nandakumar? He takes money and makes baseless accusations. I'm not interested in justifying myself for that. It doesn't warrant any response. I have no interest in obtaining anything through illegal means. I'm choosing to ignore it.

I don’t know about that. Nandakumar and UDF together brought Swapna to make accusations against Isaac. However, when they realized there could be repercussions for accusing a candidate, their target was replaced. It's rumored that Nandakumar has connections with BJP leaders in Delhi and is involved in various transactions with them. There are also reports suggesting that Sobha is associated with this.

It is unnecessary to mention casual meetings like this at political gatherings unless political discussions took place. It was just a casual meet. I face many people on a daily basis. Representatives from all political parties will be included in this. Political leaders are accustomed to meeting many persons. It's not customary to discuss such meetings in the party.