Kannur: A day after CPM state secretary M V Govindan mounted a strong defence of Pinarayi Vijayan over the CMRL case, senior party leader E P Jayarajan on Wednesday described the former chief minister as the "strength and power" of the CPM and said the party would resist attempts to weaken him.

Speaking at a public meeting at Payyambalam in Kannur to mark the death anniversary of Azhikodan Raghavan, Jayarajan said there was an attempt to weaken the CPM in Kerala by targeting Pinarayi. “Pinarayi Vijayan is the strength and power of the CPM. They think they can weaken the party in Kerala by destroying him. We will resist this with all our strength,” he said.

On Tuesday, Govindan had rejected allegations of wrongdoing by Pinarayi and questioned the decision of the UDF government to order a police inquiry based on the Enforcement Directorate’s report. Govindan pointed out that Pinarayi had categorically denied that the initials “PV” in the CMRL diary referred to him, while Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty had publicly acknowledged receiving election funds from CMRL.

Govindan also argued that the ED had not sought similar criminal action against the UDF ministers and alleged that the agency was politically targeting Pinarayi, his daughter T Veena and former minister P A Mohamed Riyas.

He said Kerala is being governed by Modi, ED and V D Satheesan.

Taking a cue, Jayarajan, a CPM Central Committee member, on Wednesday linked the developments to what he described as a larger attempt to weaken the Left. He alleged that the BJP had come to power by communally polarising the country and turning communalism into a vote bank. “The first thing the RSS needs to do to establish its dominance is to destroy the CPM. The moves towards this have been under way for a long time. If the Left is weakened, the country will move towards fascist terror,” he said.

Jayarajan also targeted Chief Minister V D Satheesan, saying he was gradually becoming a “fellow traveller” of the BJP. “If this is the direction things are heading, the BJP will take the Chief Minister along with it. A section of the Congress in Kerala will also go to the BJP,” he said.

District secretary K K Ragesh presided over the meeting. State secretariat members M V Jayarajan and P Jayarajan also spoke. State committee members T V Rajesh, P Sasi, A N Shamseer, M Prakashan and N Chandran, district secretariat members M Surendran, Karayi Rajan and K V Suresh, and members of Azhikodan’s family participated in the memorial programme.