The row over former Minister Saji Cherian's allegedly "anti-Constitution" remarks that compelled his resignation last week appears to have acquired a new political dimension in Kerala.
On Monday, Deshabhimani, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] mouthpiece, carried a photograph showing Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan attending a function marking the release of a book authored by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue P. Parameswaran.
The event was in April 2013 in Thrissur. The photograph showed Mr. Satheesan on the stage and against the backdrop of a portrait of Swami Vivekananda.
Mr. Satheesan said the CPI(M) had published the photograph and a distorted version of the episode as a tit-for-tat for the Opposition forcing the resignation of Mr. Cherian over his controversial take on the Constitution.
(Mr. Satheesan had accused Mr. Cherian of echoing Golwalkar's view on the Constitution. The RSS ideologue had purportedly described the Constitution as a "British-crafted document that ill-served the people of India".)
Mr. Satheesan said the Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP) had released the photograph on social media to undermine his secular credentials. The CPI(M) played second fiddle to the Sangh Parivar by regurgitating the BJP smear. In the process, the CPI(M) had also sullied the name of former Chief Minister and CPI(M) veteran V. S. Achuthanandan.
Mr. Satheesan said Mr. Achuthanandan had released Parameswaran’s book in Thiruvananthapuram on March 13, 2013. He was Chief Minister at the time. Mr. Satheesan had attended the book's release in Thrissur at the behest of the late politician, publisher and writer M. P. Veerendra Kumar on the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
“At the venue, I spoke about how the RSS had wrongly claimed Swami Vivekananda’s legacy. His religious outlook was diametrically opposite to the Hindu majoritarian and anti-secular fascist perspective of the Sangh Parivar. I have faced RSS ire more than any CPI(M) leader,” he said.
When asked about the photograph in Deshabhimani, Finance Minister K. N. Balagopal quipped: “The answer lies in Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala’s comment that he would have shunned the event lest it gave a wrong political message.”
CPI(M) Polit Bureau member M. A. Baby said Mr. Satheesan had followed in the footsteps of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran who allegedly averred in the past that he might end up in the RSS. He said the ideological line between the Congress and the RSS in Kerala was very thin.
