Kannur: The CPM has again turned temple festivals into a political stage. This time, it wasn’t just an innocuous ghazal by Aloshi Adams in praise of DYFI activist Pushpan, the Kuthuparamba police firing victim, or chants of Inquilab Zindabad on temple grounds.

This time, CPM supporters marched with flags bearing the faces of nine party workers convicted just a week ago for murdering BJP activist Suraj at Muzhappilangad in 2005. The spectacle unfolded on Sunday at the Parambayi Sree Kuttichathan Math temple festival in Vengad grama panchayat, about 10 km from Thalassery.

On March 24, the Thalassery Sessions Court sentenced eight CPM workers to life and another to three years in prison for Suraj’s killing. The first accused, T K Rajeesh, was also an accused in the assassination of RMP leader T P Chandrasekharan. Others convicted include N V Yagesh, K Shamjith, Neyyoth Sajeevan, Prabhakaran, K V Padmanabhan, Manoraj Narayanan, and Manombeth Radhakrishnan. The eleventh accused, Pradeepan, received a three-year term.

Like Chandrasekharan before him, Suraj had quit the CPM. The prosecution argued in court that the defection cost Suraj his life.

Suraj was killed on August 7, 2005. His attackers arrived in an autorickshaw, threw a crude bomb to create a smokescreen, and hacked him to death in front of the Muzhappilangad telephone exchange. He was 32. Six months earlier, he had survived an attempt on his life. During the 19-year trial, two accused died, and a tenth was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

After the verdict, CPM Kannur district secretary M V Jayarajan declared the convicts "innocent" and vowed to take legal steps to "protect them". A week after the conviction, his words found reflection in the temple festival.

Last week, CPM and BJP workers turned another temple festival at Kadirur near Thalassery into a show of strength, both carrying their party flags.

On February 20, CPM workers clashed with BJP activists over Inquilab Zindabad slogans at the Manoli Kavu Theyyam festival in Thalassery. Two police sub-inspectors who took action against the CPM hooligans were later transferred out from Thalassery police station, as threatened by the accused.

Kolavallur police arrested five CPM workers for hacking and grievously injuring BJP-RSS worker Shaju Chaluparambath (39) at Poyiloor in Triprangottoor Grama Panchayat, 20 km from Thalassery, on March 11. Shaju and four others were returning from the Muthappan Madappura festival at Vadakke Poyiloor.

On March 10, Aloshi Adams -- a well-known ghazal singer often invited to CPM events -- performed 'Pushpane Ariyamo', a revolutionary anthem, at the Kadakkal Devi Temple in Kollam during the ninth day of the Thiruvathira festival. The song honours Pushpan, a victim of the 1994 Kuthuparamba police firing during protests against self-financing colleges.

Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan had criticised the CPM for turning temple festivals into political platforms.