Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State secretary M.V. Govindan has said that he will defend the party against all forms of attack. Mr. Govindan said this after unveiling the ’Kodiyeri Smriti Mandapam’ at Payyambalam here on Sunday, the first death anniversary of the former State secretary of the party Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
On the “escalating” media scrutiny in Kerala, which he says is driven by an anti-communist agenda, Mr. Govindan said there had been a noticeable increase in media coverage targetting the CPI(M) over the past two weeks. Mr. Govindan highlighted certain incidents that were not reported by the media. He mentioned the recent incident at Kadakkal in Kollam district where a soldier claimed that he was assaulted by members of a religious extremist organisation. The incident even prompted questions on the state of governance in the State under Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. However, police investigation found that the soldier and his friend had cooked up the incident, leading to their subsequent arrest, he said. Mr. Govindan expressed his concerns over the media’s role in initially disseminating misleading information and then neglecting the truth of the cases. He questioned the motive of certain media outlets that failed to accurately report the outcome of the investigation.
Earlier, delivering a heartfelt tribute, he said the late Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had a unique talent for charting the right path to effectively address complex problems. His absence was felt strongly, especially when the party encountered major attacks, the CPI(M) State secretary said.
