Abhimanyu murder: PT Thomas points a finger at CPM

Congress legislator P T Thomas said that the CPM had a role to play in the murder of Maharaja's College student Abhimanyu on the campus. He said that the police should probe the accused persons’ ties with the SFI and the Facebook post by the wife of a CPM MLA suggesting such links.

Talking in Manorama Online’s ‘Marupuram’ talk show, Thomas said that the Congress could bounce back from its present low but played down the demand for a generation change. Youth was not just a number, he said. Excerpts of the interview.

The Congress which was in power in 25 states at a point has been reduced to less than five states. Where is the party headed for in Kerala?

I do not think that the Congress is on the path to destruction. The party faced a big setback in the Chengannur assembly byelection. The Pinarayi Vijayan government has adopted an appeasement policy. If the Congress manages to counter the strategy, it could bounce back.

M M Hassan was a stopgap arrangement when V M Sudheeran stepped down as the KPCC president. What prevents the party from appointing a permanent chief in Kerala?

Hassan was appointed temporarily but I understand that he had been made a permanent president later on. Hassan has been active in the party from a young age. Still he faced flak when he was selected as the party’s state president. There was a campaign suggesting he was weak. Some people said that he would be shifted out after the fundraising programme he started. That was not right.

Youngsters in the Congress have been asking for more representation in the leadership. Such a demand was heard again when the party gave up its seat to the Rajya Sabha to the Kerala Congress.

They say there are 60-year-olds who are 16 years old and 16-year-olds who are 60 years old. Youth is not something to be determined on the basis of age. What matters is the way they work and their approach to a subject. They have to be able to mobilise people and take quick decisions. That is what matters.

Have you been able to convince your younger colleagues? Many young leaders are targeting veterans.

Everyone has the liberty to speak their mind in the Congress party. Youngsters have different opinions about the party leadership. People such as V T Balram are very promising. I am not underestimating them. But they have to work hard and stay focused. The young Congress MLAs are doing a fantastic work when compared to the young legislators of the CPM.

So you do not think that the youngsters have no reason to insist on more representation?

That is not what I meant. They have to perform more steadily. They have to work deeply. You can’t grab leadership. Posts will come to you when you work sincerely.

Do you think that the Congress did right in granting its Rajya Sabha seat to K M Mani's party?

I think that the party decision on K M Mani was hasty. The party could have taken this decision after convincing the leaders and workers. There was no reason for Mani to leave the alliance. Should we really had to offer a Rajya Sabha seat to bring him back to the front? The problems could have been avoided if the party had taken a far-sighted decision. It was not right for Oommen Chandy, Ramesh Chennithala and Hassan to take a decision without consulting the party fora.

Mani let its Lok Sabha MP Jose K Mani to contest in that Rajya Sabha seat. You think that was proper?

A Lok Sabha member contesting to the Rajya Sabha before the end of his term was not a politically wise decision. I have no doubts about it. They could have handled this issue in a better way. Mani’s party is well within his control. He could anoint anyone to any post. But did he had to opt for this tortuous route?

You were a strong leader of the ‘A’ group within the Congress. Nowadays you prefer to work above the groups. Do you think that the factionalism is detrimental to the party?

I do not think that the group politics has weakened the Congress in Kerala. Yet indiscriminate group politics has affected the party. Groups are a reality because the party always had people who took independent decisions. I have decided to stand by those who take the right decisions. That does not mean I have detached myself from a group or I have switched to another group. I think the leaders should view matters above their group loyalties.

Still posts in the Congress are shared on the basis of groups. Is that not the reason for not appointing a KPCC president?

There is no doubt that the quality suffers when everything is cut up on the basis of groups. But I still think that the party would do better when different opinions rise in the party. It is not right for everything to focus on a single leader. We need different opinions. Yet we have to work united for the growth of the party.

V M Sudheeran had taken a visible stand against the group politics in the party. He is being targeted by both groups. Is he a victim of group politics? Do you agree with his stands?

I do not agree to all his stands. I never agreed to his demand for prohibition. I have opposed the closure of bars by the United Democratic Front government. That was a wrong decision. The Left Democratic Front government has reopened the bars. No one had any problems, including those who tried to scare the UDF government.

However, I am in agreement with Sudheeran in some matters. He has done some good deals as the KPCC president. He has a big role to play in Kerala’s politics. His transparent stands and popular acceptance cannot be played down.

A student was killed in Maharaja’s College recently. The police have said that some extremist associations were behind the murder of Abhimanyu yet the opposition leader and other Congress leaders did not bother to condemn the murder or the accused associations. Why such a soft approach?

That is absolutely wrong. Many Congress leaders have condemned the attack. Ramesh Chennithala did not because he was out of the state. Almost all other leaders, including those in the Ernakulam district, paid their last respects to Abhimanyu.

The Congress is the only party in Kerala not to make any kind of understanding with associations such as the NDF, SDPI and the Campus Front. A day after Abhimanyu’s murder, the CPM grabbed power in the Vembayam panchayat near Thiruvananthapuram with the help of the SDPI. In Chengannur, LDF candidate Saji Cherian was representing the SDPI. The Congress is the only party not linked to any of these parties in any way. The CPM has worked with these parties on several occasions. Everyone knows how they shared dais with Abdul Nasar Madani. The CPM has no one else to blame when its cadre is hit by the extremist outfits it helped.

A CPM MLA’s wife had put up a Facebook post alleging that the CPM was behind the murder. Whey are the party leaders silent on a photo that showed two accused holding an SFI flag. Why can’t they locate the people who kept calling up Abhimanyu when he was at home. You only have to go through the boy’s phone. The MLA’s wife has raised a serious allegation. The SFI turned Maharaja’s into a single-party system by preventing other parties to work on the campus. The college hostel is filled with antisocial elements. The college union office has been stocked up with weapons. I am not justifying Abhimanyu’s murder. I stand for dealing with an iron hand associations such as the Campus Front.

Are you saying that the CPM has a role in the murder?

Yes. The MLA’s wife has said so. She has raised a question about the people who had helped the attackers go to Ernakulam. That means something. How did the suspects manage to evade the police after a murder in the city. The police have to say who had called up the boy before he was killed. Something is rotten here. It is a good thing that the SFI leaders are fighting against communalism. But do they dare tell their parent organisation to stop working with the associations that have killed their comrade?

You were involved in the actress attack case from the beginning. Where is the case headed for? Are you happy with the probe?

I do not want to speculate who the perpetrator is but he should never be allowed to go scot-free no matter who he is. I do not want to say more on the case because it is sub judice. One thing is certain. This crime was the result of arrogance created by money and scant respect for law.

What do you think of the AMMA’s decisions related to the case?

AMMA’s decisions indicated that a majority of the actors were not with the attacked actress. These stars had put up a great show at the Durbar Hall a day after the attack. I did not think that they were acting. But now I am convinced that they were just acting.

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