Payyannur: Even as the martyr fund row in Payyannur refuses to die down within the CPM, the party has sought to counter the allegations, saying its accounts were explained in detail to members and sympathisers at all 267 branches in the area well ahead of the elections.

The accounts of the martyr fund as well as other party funds were also explained at meetings of sympathisers held at the branch level. The explanations had convinced party members and sympathisers, as reflected in the LDF candidate polling more than 70,000 votes in Payyannur, CPM district secretariat member T I Madhusoodanan, area secretary P Santhosh and district committee members Sarin Sasi, K K Gangadharan and M Raghavan said.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, the leaders said printing and publishing the fund details was not practical. The CPM, they said, had the highest number of martyrs among political parties in Kerala, while the collection and disbursement of the martyr fund were handled locally.

The fund collected in one area could not be taken elsewhere for distribution, they said. The entire amount was collected from CPM workers and not a single rupee could be taken from it by anyone, they added.

The leaders said the party had approached the court against V Kunhikrishnan to establish the truth through legal means.

They also rubbished Kunhikrishnan’s allegation that Pinarayi Vijayan had used his speeches to threaten him and his supporters. There was no hint of a threatening tone in Vijayan’s speech, they said, adding that his remarks were based on a document discussed and released by the CPM central committee. They also rejected the claim that Vijayan had spoken against the party’s policy.

The leaders also brushed aside reports of factionalism within the CPM in Payyannur. Differences of opinion may surface at party meetings, they said, but once a decision is taken, everyone closes ranks behind it. That, they said, was the CPM’s practice.