A fratricidal war of words is continuing between the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] through their respective ideological mouthpieces with the former accusing its Left Democratic Front ally of persuading youngsters towards extremist Maoist thoughts in the 60s.
The recent debate between the Left parties began with an article in the Chintha weekly, considered to be the ideological organ of the CPI(M) in Malayalam, ahead of the party’s State conference in Ernakulam.
The article in Chintha, penned by E. Ramachandran, sought to play down the self-proclaimed corrective role being taken up by the CPI. It alleged, quoting media reports, that the CPI party document being discussed ahead of its national conference was more interested in correcting the CPI(M) instead of self-correction.
Corrective force
Mr. Ramachandran alleged that it was the right-wing media that gave the CPI the image of a “corrective force” and that party was just exhibiting its “revisionist” tendencies. The article also traced historical developments to prove its point, terming the CPI leaders as “traitors” who joined hands with the Congress in the past.
The CPI chose to give its reply in the latest issue of its ideological mouthpiece Navayugom through an article written in the byline of Vijayan.
It blamed the CPI(M) for the splits that happened in the Communist movement and says that the article in Chintha, full of “Himalayan blunders”, was stuffed with false stories. The article alleged that it was the CPI(M)’s “affection for China” and the Chinese Communist Party’s involvement in the affairs of its Indian counterpart that led to the split in the CPI and later in the CPI(M) in the 60s. Referring to the Naxalbari uprising, the CPI mouthpiece said that by exhorting the youth to take up extreme revolutionary course of Maoism, the CPI(M) sacrificed the lives of many.
However, CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan remained unruffled by the article against his party while his CPI counterpart Kanam Rajendran was more vocal in his reactions.
