Kannur: In line with the CPM's stance of considering its leaders convicted of criminal offences as innocent, the party's Kasaragod district secretariat member and former Udma MLA KV Kunhiraman has been nominated as vice-chairman of Kerala Folklore Academy, sparking outrage and opposition parties slamming the move as a blatant affront to public morality. 

Minister for Culture Saji Cherian said he was not aware of the nomination but raised a counter-question: "Is it illegal," he asked Onmanorama. His tone, while not overtly defensive, suggested a willingness to overlook the moral question in favour of legality. "I just wanted to know,” he added.

On January 3, 2025, the CBI Special Court in Kochi convicted KV Kunhiraman (62), Kanhangad Block Panchayat president K Manikandan, and two other CPM leaders, sentencing them to five years of rigorous imprisonment for helping an accused escape police custody in the sensational Periya double murder case.

The same judgment awarded life sentences to 10 other CPM workers and leaders for conspiracy and murder of Periya's Youth Congress workers Sarathlal P K and Kripesh on February 17, 2019.

Kunhiraman and Manikandan appealed against the sentence in the High Court. On January 8, the High Court suspended the execution of their five-year sentence (but not the conviction) till the petition is heard -- a process that may take up to five years due to the backlog of cases.

Manikandan, who faces disqualification under the Representation of the People's Act, stepped down as the president of Kanhangad Block Panchayat.

Despite the conviction, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) continues to retain Kunhiraman in the party’s Kasaragod district secretariat, the highest decision-making body in the district, and Manikandan in the District Committee.

Kunhiraman's nomination as vice-chairman of the Folklore Academy, a cultural body under the state's Department of Cultural Affairs, triggered sharp political backlash.

The Kerala Folklore Academy is not the CPM's front organisation where it can appoint criminals, said Kasaragod District Congress President P K Faisal. "The Congress will take up the matter with the government and take it to the people too," he said. He said the academy's vice-chairman enjoys government perks and a position.

BJP's North Zone President Adv K Shreekanth said the appointment was "a challenge to the rule of law".

"It is unacceptable to entrust the leadership of cultural institutions like the Folklore Academy to a person convicted of murder," he said. Shreekanth alleged the CPM and the Pinarayi government were "protecting and promoting criminals".

Under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, any person convicted and sentenced to two years or more in prison is barred from contesting elections during the period of incarceration and for six years after their release.

Minister for Culture Saji Cheriyan said he was unaware of Kunhiraman's nomination and clarified that only the chairman and secretary of the Folklore Academy are government nominees. Party sources, meanwhile, confirmed that Kunhiraman's nomination was a decision made by the CPM.

CPM's pattern of backing convicts 
The controversy comes close on the heels of the CPM organising a send-off function for eight party workers before going to jail after the Supreme Court upheld their conviction in the brutal hacking of RSS leader and Rajya Sabha member C Sadanandan three decades ago.

The CPM workers severed Sadanandan's legs at the knees on the night of January 25, 1994, in what became one of the first cases booked under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) in Kerala.

CPM's Central Committee member and Mattannur MLA K K Shailaja were among the top leaders who attended the farewell function.

The convicts, sentenced to seven years, were out on bail for 27 years.

"Giving a send-off to convicts is an internal party matter. But as a people's representative, KK Shailaja presiding over such a function is unfortunate and sends a very bad message to society. Instead of correcting them, such functions motivate others to commit similar crimes," said Sadanandan.