Malappuram (Kerala), Jun 18 (PTI) As Nilambur goes to the polls on Thursday, a fresh debate has erupted in Kerala over an alleged understanding between the CPI(M) and the Jan Sangh, the early incarnation of the BJP, during the 1970s.
The debate was sparked by CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan's recent remarks during a television interview, in which he stated that the Marxist party had collaborated with the RSS out of necessity and saw no controversy in it.
The Left veteran made the statement while discussing the Emergency period and the prevailing political situation in the country and state at that time.
He, however, clarified on Wednesday that the CPI(M) had never forged any political alliance with the RSS in the past, in the present or would not make anything like that in the future.
The remarks turned into a huge political debate on the eve of the Nilambur bypoll, with the opposition Congress alleging that it was a deliberate move by the CPI(M) to win right-wing votes by reminding the RSS and the BJP about their past alliance.
"Why did the CPI(M) remember about their past friendship on the eve of the Nilambur bypoll?" Opposition leader V D Satheesan asked.
Taking a dig at the Left party, the LoP told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that it is like a passionate plea from a lover who says that even though we've been apart for a while, we were great friends once.
"M V Govindan has now made a heartfelt reminder for help from the RSS and the BJP. The UDF will defeat their alliance," Satheesan said.
The Congress leader said, though it may seem inappropriate, it was a "wise statement" which had been made by the CPI(M) through its state secretary.
He also rejected the claims by Govindan that the Left party had not joined hands with the Jan Sangh but with the Janata Party during the 1970s.
Even before 1975, the CPI(M) had an alliance with the Jan Sangh in 1967, he alleged, and pointed out that Sundaraiah, the then general secretary of the Marxist party, had resigned in protest of its alliance with the right-wing group.
He also accused late CPI(M) stalwarts EMS Namboodiripad and Jyoti Basu of joining hands with BJP leaders A B Vajpayee and L K Advani to defeat Congress leader and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi during 1989.
The relationship between the CPI(M) and the BJP is still active. In the first phase, the BJP was not even ready to field a candidate in Nilambur.
The CPI(M) is trying to get that vote," Satheesan further charged.
However, Govindan justified his earlier statement, saying that he was mentioning a peculiar political situation during the time of emergency when the entire country went ahead against it unitedly.
"Those statements were distorted. A false campaign is unleashed by forces with a communal nature, especially by the proponents of Jamaat-e-Islami, to deceive people," he alleged during a press conference here.
He also said the Janata Party had not come as a continuation of the Jan Sangh but was a coalition of divergent parties, ideologies and sections.
Earlier in the day, Congress-led UDF candidate Aryadan Shoukath said that there are considerable chances of more such alliances being formed even now, while CPI(M)-LDF candidate M Swaraj stated that it was with the Janata Party--not the Jan Sangh--that the Left had cooperated at the time.
People with divergent ideologies had become part of the Janata Party during that period, he added.
While speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, Shoukath claimed that the Communist Party had openly admitted in the past to having formed an alliance with the RSS-linked Jan Sangh in at least three or four states as early as 1967, in a bid to bring down the then Congress ministry from power.
He asserted that this was clearly mentioned in their political document.
"The chances of such alliances being forged in the future are 100 per cent," Shoukath claimed.
However, Swaraj, on Wednesday, said that it was not with the BJP or the Jan Sangh, but with the Janata Party that the Left had joined hands decades ago.
The CPI(M) state secretariat member also clarified that Marxist stalwart and the state's first elected Chief Minister, E M S Namboodiripad, had later declared that they did not want RSS votes, after allegations emerged that the Janata Party was being controlled by the RSS.
Swaraj further alleged that it was the Congress which had later cooperated with the RSS-controlled Janata Party.
The Marxist party has always had a history of upholding secular values and opposing communalism, he added.
With months left for the Pinarayi Vijayan government to complete its second consecutive term in office, the by-election in Nilambur has become a prestigious battle for both the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and the opposition Congress-led UDF.
The bypoll is scheduled to be held on 19 June, with counting set to take place on 23 June.