CPI M never cooperated with RSS Kerala CM

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 18 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday denied any political cooperation between the CPI(M) and the RSS during the Emergency period, calling the right-wing group a “communal force” that had targeted Marxist cadres.

Labeling the RSS a "fascist outfit", Vijayan said the Marxist party has never found any common ground with it since the organisation’s inception in 1925.
The Left party has never made any compromise with the RSS at any point of time, he asserted.

The Chief Minister made the statements in the wake of CPI (M) state secretary M V Govindan 's recent remarks that the Marxist party had collaborated with the RSS out of necessity during the time of Emergency, triggering a political debate on the eve of the Nilambur bypoll.

Though the state secretary clarified his statements earlier in the day, the opposition Congress alleged 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.

However, Vijayan claimed that it was the Congress party which cooperated with the RSS at the national and local levels on various occasions during these years.

"There was no relation between the CPI (M) and the RSS during the emergency period. Not just that, we didn't have any connection even with the political party of Jan Sangh during that period," he said categorically rejecting Govindan's remarks.

The Left veteran alleged that the RSS had been considering the Communist activists as the internal foes and had killed 215 Marxist party activists in Kerala in these years.

"RSS is a communal group which has been waiting with weapons to murder us."

Even during the post-emergency period of 1977-79, the RSS had killed many Left cadres, he alleged.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)