Kerala: E P Jayarajan evades CPM wrath; party probe says 'nothing wrong in meeting political opponents'

Kerala CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan said that E P Jayarajan would remain as the LDF convenor amid controversies related to meeting BJP leader Prakash Javadekar a year ago.

Thiruvananthapuram: The CPI(M) seems to have hesitation in taking action against LDF convenor E P Jayarajan for meeting BJP's Kerala prabhari and former Union Minister Prakash Javadekar a year ago. After the CPM state secretariat meeting in Thiruvananthapuram, CPM state secretary MV Govindan informed reporters that Jayarajan would remain as the LDF convenor, stating that no actions had been taken to initiate disciplinary proceedings against him.

The explanation given by Jayarajan that Javadekar had unexpectedly visited his son's residence but had gone right away after greeting the BJP leader has been acknowledged by the CPM state secretariat. The CPM state secretariat accepted Jayarajan's explanation that Javadekar had arrived unannounced at his son's house, but quickly departed after exchanging pleasantries with the BJP leader.

Jayarajan also clarified that Javadekar left with him after he expressed his unwillingness to discuss political matters with the BJP leader. CPM state secretary MV Govindan stated that Jayarajan's involvement was innocent, and the party dismissed other allegations, such as Jayarajan meeting BJP leader Sobha Surendran multiple times and being on the brink of joining the BJP.

Also, the party has requested that Jayarajan take legal action against such "untruths." The CPM has accepted Jayarajan's claim that the party and he are the targets of a massive plot of defamation.
Govindan stated that it wasn't wrong for Jayarajan to meet a senior BJP leader at his house.

" What kind of politics is it to say that we cannot meet our political opponents," Govindan said. 

When pressed about the fact that the CPM had criticised N K Premachandran for having lunch with Prime Minister Narendra Modi only a month prior, Govindan was unable to come up with a credible response. His only answer was, "You cannot compare these two situations."

The party instructed Jayarajan to sever connections with middleman TG Nandakumar. Jayarajan informed the meeting that he had terminated the relationship a year ago," Govindan said.

The dispute erupted last Friday, the day Kerala went to Lok Sabha elections, over senior BJP leader Sobha Surendran's accusation that Jayarajan had finished 90% of his talks about joining the BJP but had backed out at the last minute out of fear for the CPI(M).