Fund embezzlement: CPM workers attack Congress, BJP protesters demanding MLA's resignation in Payyannur

Kannur: Tensions flared in Payyannur town on Saturday as CPM workers attacked a small group of Congress activists marching through the town demanding the resignation of Payyannur MLA T I Madhusoodanan, accused by a senior party colleague of large-scale fund misappropriation.

The protest was triggered by allegations made by CPM Kannur district committee member V Kunhikrishnan, who accused Madhusoodanan of embezzling funds raised between 2016 and 2021 -- including money collected in the name of slain party worker C V Dhanaraj (38), funds meant for building the CPM’s Payyannur Area Committee office, and contributions raised for the MLA’s 2021 Assembly election.

CPM workers confronted the Congress protesters, accusing them of raising provocative slogans. The confrontation soon turned violent, leaving three Congress workers injured, including Payyannur Block Congress Committee president Jayarajan.

Condemning the attack, Congress state president Sunny Joseph said the violence was “a calculated attempt to divert public attention from the martyr’s fund scam”.

“The revelations made by V Kunhikrishnan have laid bare the rot within the CPM. It is the embarrassment caused by these disclosures that has pushed the party to respond with violence,” Joseph said.
“If the CPM has even a shred of sincerity towards the martyr’s family and its own cadre, it should hand over those responsible for misappropriating martyrs’ funds to the law,” he said, demanding the immediate arrest of all CPM workers involved in the attack. 

Instead of responding to the serious questions raised by V Kunhikrishnan, Payyannur MLA Madhusoodanan is attempting to violently suppress protests against him by unleashing criminal gangs, alleged DCC president Martin George. He later visited Congress workers who were injured in the attack and are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Payyannur.

BJP workers attacked
BJP workers who took out a protest march in Payyannur town were also attacked, said the party's Kannur North district president K K Vinod Kumar. He said the party workers were demanding a Vigilance probe into Kunhikrishnan's allegations. "Criminal gangs loyal to the MLA were behind the violence," he said. BJP SC Morcha district secretary P K Sujith Kumar, Punchakkad booth president Ashokan, and O V Rohithan sustained injuries in the attack and are currently undergoing treatment at the Payyannur Taluk Hospital.

No political party could face a greater disgrace than the allegation that CPM’s Payyannur MLA usurped money collected for a martyr’s family, said BJP state General Secretary M T Ramesh. “How can party workers trust their leaders in such a party?” he said in Kasaragod.

Poster targets whistleblower
Even as the political fallout continued, CPM workers put up large red flex posters in four places in Payyannur town, including at LIC Junction and bus stand, targeting Kunhikrishnan in what appeared to be an attempt to shame him publicly.

The poster carries a portrait of Kunhikrishnan, with his face crossed out in black paint, and mockingly refers to him as a “saint”. It questions his loyalty to the party, asking where the “saint” was when a dear comrade was killed, when the party faced attacks, and workers were sent to prison and assaulted in torture rooms. The banner accused Kunhikrishnan of leaving the party after securing personal comfort. “After lunch, he left the party and is now questioning the party.”

The poster concludes with the line, “The people will recognise the traitor,” followed ironically by the slogan, “Long live the martyrs.”

Kunhikrishnan has been widely regarded within the party as a leader with a reputation for personal integrity. After years of unsuccessfully pursuing accountability through internal party mechanisms, he went public on Friday, January 23, naming individuals and detailing what he described as three separate instances of financial fraud.

Allegations around Dhanaraj fund
C V Dhanaraj (38), a CPM worker, was hacked to death allegedly by RSS-BJP workers at his home in Karanthat, Ramanthali grama panchayat, on July 11, 2016. The party decided the same year to raise funds to support his family, build them a house, create a corpus, meet legal expenses, and clear his debts.

According to Kunhikrishnan, while around ₹1 crore was raised for the purpose, the interest accrued on the amount was never reflected in the accounts. He also alleged that the cost of constructing the house was exaggerated and shown as ₹34.25 lakh, despite party workers contributing substantial manual labour.

Of this amount, ₹29.25 lakh was transferred to the contractor’s account, while ₹5 lakh was deposited into the personal bank account of the then Payyannur area secretary, K P Madhu, who withdrew the money.

Madhu subsequently lost his post, not over financial allegations, but after he posted nude photos in a party WhatsApp group. But in the December local body election, the CPM fielded him as a candidate in Payyannur municipality.

Kunhikrishnan further alleged that ₹40 lakh from the Dhanaraj fund was diverted to build the CPM’s Payyannur Area Committee office, despite cooperative society employees in the area donating their one month’s salary, amounting to about ₹70 lakh, for the construction. This donation, he claimed, was not reflected in the official accounts.

When the funds were raised for the party office and Dhanraj’s family, Madhusoodanan was the CPM’s Payyannur area secretary.

Election fund irregularities
The allegations also extend to the 2021 Assembly election, when Madhusoodanan contested from Payyannur. Kunhikrishnan, who audited the election accounts, has alleged that counterfeit receipt books were used to conceal donations.

Six receipt booklets of 25 leaves each were printed, but only two were initially produced during the audit. After intervention by the mandalam secretary, four more booklets were submitted. The printing of the two sets differed, and the printing press later confirmed it had not printed the first set of two booklets, despite both carrying the same press name.

Kunhikrishnan said he personally saw receipt numbers 27 and 28 with donors, while the accounts submitted claimed only 20 receipts had been issued. The declared income of ₹29 lakh, he alleged, concealed donations from at least eight contributors.

Internal probes and fallout
Kunhikrishnan said he repeatedly raised the issue within the party, including with the then state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. However, a two-member commission comprising T V Rajesh and P V Gopinath later concluded that no wrongdoing had occurred.

While Madhusoodanan was downgraded from the party’s district secretariat to the district committee for delays in presenting accounts, Kunhikrishnan was also removed as Payyannur area secretary in June 2022, a decision opposed by 16 of the 21 area committee members. He stayed away from party activities for eight months before being brought back.

After M V Govindan took over as state secretary, Kunhikrishnan was inducted into the district committee, but he continued to pursue the complaints. He has now authored a book titled ‘Workers Should Correct the Leadership’, in which he has detailed the allegations, and expects the party to expel him when it is out next week.