Thiruvananthapuram/Malappuram/New Delhi, Sep 27 (PTI) A day after he launched a direct attack on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala on Friday severed ties with MLA P V Anvar, who had twice won the Congress stronghold of Nilambur in Malappuram district with Left support, accusing him of wielding a “political axe of the right-wing.” CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan, at a press conference in Delhi, announced that the party was cutting all ties with Anvar, stating that the MLA had himself decided to distance from the ruling Left coalition in the state.
The party’s move came just hours after Vijayan denied Anvar’s accusations against the CPI(M), LDF, and himself, terming them an “attempt to malign and defame” the ruling dispensation in the state.
It also came after Anvar clarified in the morning that he had never intentionally said he was leaving the LDF or the CPI(M) parliamentary party, and that any such statements by him were a “slip of the tongue.” Earlier in the day, Vijayan said Anvar had made his intentions clear through his statements.
“He clearly announced he was distancing himself from the LDF and would not attend its parliamentary party meeting in the state assembly,” he told reporters.
The CPI(M) veteran, however, clarified that Anvar’s remarks would not affect the ongoing probes and inquiries into the various complaints and allegations he had made.
He was responding to the scathing allegations by Anvar against the CPI(M) and the CM, accusing them of inaction regarding his complaints about ADGP (Law and Order) M R Ajithkumar and the CM’s political secretary, P Sasi.
Later, on Friday afternoon, Govindan announced that the Left party was severing all ties with Anvar in light of his remarks against the CPI(M), the LDF government, and the chief minister, urging party cadres to rally against the Nilambur MLA.
Subsequently, rallies were organised by the CPI(M) in Nilambur and other parts of Malappuram district, with its workers in large numbers shouting provocative slogans against Anvar, who captured the constituency from the Congress in the 2016 Assembly polls and retained it in the 2021 polls.
While noting that Anvar, an independent MLA aligned with the Left, did not understand the party system, Govindan said that the state government was looking into the issues he raised.
However, Anvar said he was unaware of the CPI(M)’s decision when reporters asked him about it following Govindan’s press conference.
“If he (Govindan) has said that all ties have been cut, then they have been cut. I have not heard that,” the Nilambur MLA told reporters in Malappuram.
He further stated that his remarks made a day earlier and prior were not intended to weaken the Left party or the LDF.
He said that he had only raised the issue of policing in the state becoming questionable and the role allegedly played in it by ADGP Ajithkumar and the chief minister’s political secretary, Sasi.
Anvar further claimed that the recent Lok Sabha poll outcome in the state was a slap to the Left Front from the people of Kerala.
He asserted that the LS poll loss reflected the party workers’ dissatisfaction with the Left Front.
The CPI(M)-led LDF faced a significant defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, winning only one out of 20 seats in Kerala.
Anvar said he would continue to raise instances of injustice faced by the people.
Meanwhile, the Congress-led UDF opposition said it will not politically shelter the independent MLA, who allegedly supported the corrupt practices of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government.
UDF convener M M Hassan said the current conflict between the chief minister and Anvar is an internal CPI(M) issue, and the MLA is merely repeating allegations that the opposition has been raising for the past three years.
He noted that it was Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, who “exposed the CPI(M)-RSS nexus,” and Anvar’s reaction only reinforces that stance.
Hassan also questioned the Nilambur MLA’s silence over the years when the opposition was actively protesting against the scandals in the Legislative Assembly, noting that “Anvar, who remained silent, supported the government by raising his hand as an MLA during that time”.
On Thursday, Anvar had accused Vijayan of misleading the public and demanded that he give up charge of the home department.
He also challenged the chief minister to order a reinvestigation of the around 180 gold smuggling cases in the state under the supervision of a sitting judge.
He had alleged police were not following proper procedure when seizing the precious metal from “carriers” who illegally brought it from abroad.
Anvar had also alleged that the CPI(M) in Kerala had gone back on the assurances given to him with regard to the various allegations and complaints he had made against ADGP Ajithkumar and Sasi, who are close confidants of the CM. PTI HMP RAM TGB KH
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