MV Govindan half-spurns Kunhikrishnan, sticks by district leadership claims

CPM state secretary MV Govindan on Sunday virtually dismissed Kannur District Committee member V Kunhikrishnan's allegation that Dhanraj martyr's fund was appropriated by senior party members. 

Govindan found Kunhikrishnan's move to go public with his charges three years after he had raised the issue within the party more problematic than the allegations he had hurled.

"The issue had cropped earlier, and it was settled then. The latest issue involves a deviation from party's organisational principles," Govindan told reporters at AKG Bhavan, which was a clear hint that disciplinary action would be initiated against Kunhikrishnan for going public with his allegations. "The matter would be discussed in the Kannur District Secretariat and District Committee and a decision taken," he said. 

The CPM state secretary resorted to a bit of whataboutery when asked how an issue that involved the alleged embezzlement of money collected from the public could be confined within the party's disciplinary mechanism. Shouldn't this be brought to the notice of the police? 

"The accounts of crores collected from the people have not yet been revealed," he said, referring to the mobilisation of money for Wayanad rehabilitation by the Youth Congress. "Why is there no panic about that," Govindan shot back at reporters.

When he was pressed further, Govindan said: "You can go to the police. Who stops you from doing that."

Interestingly, unlike the Kannur district secretary KK Ragesh, the state secretary did not categorically say that no money had been pilfered from the Dhanraj martyr's fund. Govindan only said that no money would be allowed to be looted. "We will not allow a single paise to be stolen from a martyr's fund," Govindan said.

He said this thrice during the press conference. Top CPM sources said that Govindan could have been subtly hinting that the party would force those responsible for the swindle to put the money back, even if it would be done away from the public glare.

Govindan said all the issues would be discussed at the District Secretariat and Committee, which met on Sunday and would sit for another day. "The district unit will take a suitable stand after discussing all the issues that had come up," Govindan said. "If it is found that the state leadership has to intervene, we will," he said.

Govindan said that the district leadership had intimated that all the issues were settled earlier. K K Ragesh had claimed that Kunhikrishnan had even apologised at the District Committee in 2022. 

Amused, Kunhikrishnan replied that he was not a District Committee member at that time. "How can anyone who is not part of the DC apologise in front of the DC," he said on Sunday.

Kunhikrishnan called for the martyr's fund accounts after he became Payyannur area secretary in 2021. The fund was mobilised in 2017, a year after Dhanraj's murder in July 2016. Over  ₹1 crore was mobilised. In 2017 itself, it was found that there was a shortage of ₹10 lakh. 

Then, there were irregularities in the construction of a house for Dhanraj's family. The accounts that were submitted said that ₹34.25 lakh was spent for the construction of the house. This looked a bit inflated as CPM workers did the labour mostly for free. 

The entire amount of ₹34.25 lakh was disbursed through cheques. When these cheques were examined, ₹29.25 lakh had gone to the contractor's account. The remaining ₹5 lakh was credited to the account of the then Payyannur area secretary, and this money was seen as withdrawn. KP Madhu was the area secretary in question.

From this, ₹2 lakh was seen credited to the personal account of the area secretary, which too had been withdrawn. Some ₹45-odd crore was also seen missing. This, the district leadership said, was utilised for constructing a party office. This money was diverted from the Dhanraj fund without settling Dhanraj's debts. However, after this diversion came to public notice, the party paid Dhanraj's debts.