Kottayam: The Kerala government handed over the Periya twin murder case to the crime branch in a bid to mislead the investigation, Congress state president Mullappally Ramachandran said. The investigation has been entrusted to officers with a reputation for being yes-men, he said in an interview with Manorama Online, justifying his demand for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
How does the Congress intend to fight the upcoming general election?
We had set an agenda even before the Janamahayatra started from Kasaragod. This march will go through all 140 assembly constituencies in Kerala before winding up in Thiruvanathapuram. We intend to discuss issues with people and convey our messages to them. Our slogan is to reclaim India. That says everything. We have put forward to the people a meaningful idea. All the progress we see in India are the contribution of the Congress. Congress's struggles brought foreign domination to its knees and brought political freedom to India. We discovered India. And we are responsible for reclaiming India. The people of India have high hope in the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi. The people know that only the Congress is capable of saving the country from the present misery.
The Congress's main opponent in Kerala is the Left Democratic Front. Do you plan to raise allegations against the Pinarayi government.
The CPM believes in the elimination theory. That is their political stand. Their rule is utter failure. The chief minister has failed miserably after 1,000 days in office, just like Narendra Modi isolated himself from the people and failed at the Centre. He has been reduced to the weakest, most incapable chief minister Kerala has ever seen. He does not know how to get things done. He does not know how to take officers into confidence. Arrogance is his hallmark. He is the prisoner of inferiority complex. That is why he often shouts at officers and shuts out the media. A chief minister or an administrator has to be humble in a democratic setup. If he cannot understand the fact that he is responsible to the people, he is nothing but a dictator. I can only see him as a Stalinist. He does not entertain criticism. He is inimical of his critics. If we review the functioning of the government in the last 1,000 days, I, or the party I lead, can only grant him zero marks. He could not get anything done. He jumped on the Sabarimala issue and made himself ludicrous. His stands were not received well by society. He was isolated.
Kerala has not recovered from the twin murders in Kasaragod. The police have nabbed the accused. Aren't you satisfied?
We were not satisfied with the investigation right from the beginning because the government has been trying to mislead the investigation. We know that Kerala has its share of just officers. They can act fearlessly. But do they have the freedom to do so? They don't. They are never given responsibility. The local leader who was arrested as an accused may or may not be involved in the case. Let the investigating officer decide it but the statements contradict each other. The families of the victims have an apprehension that the case will not be pursued justly. Even the mother and wife of the accused say that he could never do such a thing without the knowledge of the party. We can only see these murders as an organised attack with the consent of the party. The needle of suspicion definitely turns towards the top leadership of the party. Now the government has decided to hand over the probe to the crime branch. What is this crime branch? Who are the officers in it? You have to look into it. Crime branch is headed by inspector general S Sreejith. Who is he? He is known among police circles as a yes-man. He was the main actor in the drama related to women's entry into the Sabarimala temple. He was asked to probe the custodial death of Sreejith in Varappuzha. What happened to the case? He is loyal to the government. He can never crack the case. That is why we demand an investigation by a central agency. Otherwise this case will be pushed into oblivion like the other cases.
These murders were the most shocking since the killing of SFI activist Abhimanyu. Let us leave aside the tally. Don't you think all political parties are equally to blame?
Abhimanyu's murder was shocking. He was a victim of campus politics. Who made campus politics dangerous? I was attending a symposium when the vice-chancellor of the Kerala University said that the university hostel had been turned into an armoury, that the SFI activists had been storing weapons in the hostel. This opinion is shared by many principals. The CPM and the SFI are responsible for the violent politics on the campuses. I do not want a single child to spill his blood on the campus. I was a student leader myself. The campus politics was spoiled by the CPM. The campuses were not like this in our days. The CPM even politicised Abhimanyu's death. They collected Rs 4 crore in his name and gave only Rs 35 lakh to his family. That party has stooped to such a level to use a murder as a fundraising opportunity.
Speaking about the twin murders, those youngsters were totally innocent. A local squabble among college students could have been easily resolved then and there. That led to the murders. No one could hold back their tears when they went to their houses. Many people cried, including me. Violence is not a solution to anything. I have been fighting against the criminal elements in my own party. I am not getting into what happened in the past. We have also erred while defending ourselves. I do not deny anything. But the Congress has never done anything like that in the recent past. Violence is the weapon of the weak. Strong people fight with ideas. I just want to remind the communist party that it will not lead them anywhere. That is what history teaches us. Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin chose the path of arms yet they were consigned to the waste bin of history. The communist party is assured of the same fate.
We are often told that communist parties are humanist. Look at the way people are killed. They hacked T P Chandrasekharan's face 51 times. They hacked Shuhaib 41 times. A party cannot stoop any lower if it had to control politics with hired goons. Whenever someone is killed, they say that they have no role in it. Then as the investigation progresses, they would say that they regret their role in it. They have to say that violence is not their way and denounce it. Weren't they protecting the accused in the T P Chandrasekharan murder case? They welcomed them when they were let out on parole. They did everything for the criminals. The chief minister has a very big role in it. He was the main accused in the murder of Vadikkal Ramakrishnan, the first political murder in Kerala, even though he was not convicted in the case. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan was the trigger in that case. It started as a petty fight and ended in a brutal murder. They should end these murders if they have a heart. This politics of murder has to end.
The Kerala government did nothing legally wrong in the Sabarimala issue.
My party has always respected the judiciary. But we cannot see the Sabarimala judgment as the final verdict. The Supreme Court has corrected many of its judgments later. Women were at the forefront of those who protested against women's entry into Sabarimala. They were against violating the conventions at Sabarimala. Kerala society viewed the verdict emotionally. We have to respect the sentiments of the faithful in a pluralistic society. The Congress' declared stand was the stand taken by Nehru and Gandhi. Nehru was not a worshipper but he had promised to fight for the rights of the faithful. Gandhiji chose to stand by the faith when it was in contrast with reason. Those who are out to implement the Supreme Court order has set aside many other verdicts without implementing. The CPM is trying to spark a riot. The BJP and the RSS wants to create an Ayodhya-like situation in Kerala. What did Yogi Adithyanath say in Pathanamthitta? P S Sreedharan Pillai said it was all about politics, not faith. Both of them cheated the Hindus in Kerala. We always stood by the faithful. Surveys have proved that our stands have been supported by society.
Are you sure that the Congress will never utilise the Sabarimala issue politically?
Never. The Congress has no intention to politicise the Sabarimala issue. The Congress will never try to garner votes from the issue, like the other parties do.
What will you do if the Supreme Court dismisses the review petitions?
We will make our stand clear when such a situation arises.
The Congress is forever accused of denying a winning seat to women and youngsters. Do you see a change this time around?
No other political party has given women and the youth more opportunities than the Congress. I was young when I first contested an election. I am a native of Kozhikode but the party wanted me to contest from Kannur. I won five straight elections from Kannur. Has any other party given more prominence to women. Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi are prime examples. We have appointed women as president, prime minister, judges, speaker, governors and ministers. Ours is the party which gave women decent posts. Rahul Gandhi has made our stand clear for this election. Every seat is important to us. All 20 seats are important for us. That is how we are going forward. Each constituency will get the candidate it deserve. The only priority for this election will be merit. That does not mean that we will deny youngsters a seat. But we will recognise merit.
What will be your criteria for seat division among allies? How will you satisfy allies and the groups within the party?
I do not want to deny group equations. I have tried to take along all group leaders since I took charge as the president of the KPCC. We will be able to fix candidates for every seat without any disagreements. I expect the same thing to happen with the allies.
The appointment of A K Antony's son as the head of the party's IT cell was criticised by the KSU and the Youth Congress. Is dynasty politics alive still?
I had picked Shashi Tharoor as the head of the IT cell because I realised that the area was very important to us. I told him to set up a team for us. He suggested that name. Antony's son is a brilliant boy. He had done an excellent work related to the Gujarat election. Please do not drag a senior leader's name into this. He had no knowledge of this. Do you think that dynasty politics has any place in Kerala? No one would believe that is possible in Kerala. No one can grow here without merit. Only meritorious people can withstand here. The others would not be accepted by society. No one can be imposed on Kerala.
What are the chances of the United Progressive Alliance to come to power at the Centre?
I am an optimist. I believe that Modi's return to power would mark the end of India's secular democracy. But things cannot remain the same. We need a big fight, even a second freedom struggle, to oust him from power. He has a definite aim. That is not the development and progress of the country. He ultimately wants India to be a Hindu country. He has the mind of Sangh Parivar. I think that the UPA will be in power this time.
What are UDF's chances in Kerala?
We are hopeful in all 20 seats. This is not a tall claim. If we are able to plug the weak points, if the UDF works together, I am confident that we could win all 20 seats.
