UDF-backed CPM rebels betrayed party, says Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan

Kozhikode: Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan came down heavily on three leaders-turned-rebels, including G Sudhakaran and T K Govindan, who decided to contest as independent with UDF backing, accusing them of betraying the party and acting as tools in the hands of the opposition. Vijayan made these remarks during a news channel interview on Friday.He said these leaders chose to contest elections with UDF support to weaken the party by joining hands with its political adversaries. "Such tendencies were not common in our party. It may be due to changes over time," he said.Rejecting allegations that Sudhakaran had been sidelined, Vijayan said the veteran leader had received the highest consideration within CPM. He suggested that dissatisfaction may have arisen after the party congress decided to fix 75 years as the retirement age. Vijayan also said he had tried to contact Sudhakaran three times over the phone after reports of his exit surfaced, but the calls went unanswered.On the rebellion by Kannur party district secretariat member T K Govindan, Vijayan said Govindan's claim that no one proposed his name for candidature in Taliparamba despite his long experience in the party's organizational level was strange. "But it is not for oneself but for others to feel that the person is the right choice," he said.Dismissing the impact of the dissent, Vijayan said that such moves would not cause even a scratch to the party. He added that the party in Alappuzha had extreme vigour and had not aligned with any deviationist tendencies till date. "Same is the case for Kannur party and the stiff opposition to the move expressed by cadres in Malappattam reflects that," he said.Referring to the rebellion by V Kunhikrishnan, who is contesting as an independent candidate in Payyannur, Vijayan said the party machinery there was a model for the entire country with immense strength and public support.He also defended the candidature of PK Shyamala in Taliparamba, stating that she is a leader in her own right and not chosen because she is the wife of party state secretary M V Govindan. "She has her own identity," he said.