Posters, party pushback signal trouble for CPI(M) dissenter Kunjikrishnan in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram/Kannur: The political storm triggered by senior CPI(M) leader V. Kunjikrishnan’s allegations of financial irregularities intensified on Saturday, with posters attacking him surfacing across Payyannur even as the party leadership mounted a strong counter-offensive ahead of a crucial Kannur district committee meeting on Sunday.
The posters, which accuse Kunjikrishnan of betrayal, surfaced in several parts of Payyannur on Saturday morning, underlining the intensifying internal backlash against the Kannur district committee member.
With the CPI(M) Kannur district committee set to meet in the presence of state leaders, party sources indicated that disciplinary action against Kunjikrishnan is imminent, signalling that his days in the party may be numbered.
Senior CPI(M) leader and former Kannur district secretary M.V. Jayarajan came out strongly against Kunjikrishnan, dismissing his allegations as “totally baseless.”
Jayarajan said two internal party commissions had examined the matter in detail and categorically found that no embezzlement had taken place. “There were lapses in placing accounts before the committee, and action was taken on that basis. But there was no misappropriation of funds at all,” he said.
Jayarajan accused Kunjikrishnan of attempting to attack the party under the guise of correcting it. “He was part of the committee that discussed the findings of the two commissions. In our party, once a collective decision has been made, everyone must adhere to it. It cannot be that one person claims that everyone else is wrong,” he said.
Echoing this line, CPI(M) Kannur district secretary K.K. Ragesh said Kunjikrishnan himself had admitted his inability to produce evidence to substantiate the allegations. “He has accepted the findings of the commission and the report. As a Marxist-Leninist party, we will not tolerate indiscipline,” Ragesh asserted on Saturday.
Kunjikrishnan’s allegations, made public in a media interview on Friday, had jolted Kerala politics. He had accused Payyannur MLA T.I. Madhusoodanan and his associates of misappropriating over Rs 1 crore from three key party funds — the Dhanraj Martyrs’ Fund, the election fund, and the party office construction fund.
He claimed to have submitted documentary evidence, including bank statements, to the state leadership, alleging that attempts were instead made to silence him.
The opposition, led by the Congress, has seized upon the controversy, demanding a criminal probe and accusing the CPI(M) leadership of shielding those involved.
With the Assembly in session and internal dissent out in the open, the controversy has emerged as a major political flashpoint, putting the ruling party under sharp scrutiny over transparency, accountability, and internal discipline.