CPI(M) rally in Kozhikode: Baby urges public to point out party's mistakes

A large public rally on the Kozhikode beach on Tuesday evening brought the Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s three-day extended State committee meeting to a close. Party workers and sympathisers gathered in strength for the event.

Addressing the meeting that followed, CPI(M) national general secretary M.A. Baby called on the public to guide the party by flagging its mistakes, aberrations and confusions. He said the extended State committee meeting had been convened in the wake of recent electoral reverses suffered by the party and the Left Democratic Front in Keralam.

Mr. Baby said that after the defeat, the party had held discussions with various sections of society and concluded that it had made certain mistakes. Corrective steps were under way, he added. He also attributed the setback to the consolidation of regressive forces and what he described as false campaigns against the CPI(M).

Among these, he said, was an alleged deal between the party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Mr. Baby acknowledged that the CPI(M) had not been able to effectively counter the creation of such false perceptions. He alleged that the Congress-led United Democratic Front, which ran that campaign through social media and other platforms, was itself engaged in backroom negotiations with the RSS. He cited V.D. Satheesan's past act of lighting a traditional lamp before a photograph of former RSS Sarsanghchalak M.S. Golwalkar as evidence of such a possibility.

Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, who also spoke, alleged that the UDF government had become subservient to the RSS agenda. Pointing to the recital of the full version of the national song, Vande Mataram, at the swearing-in ceremony of the new government, he claimed the practice had continued at other official events since.

Party State secretary M.V. Govindan and other senior State leaders were present at the event.