Former MLA P Nandakumar said on Saturday that Malappuram has become the hub of fundamentalists and extremists. This remark caused a row, showing the CPM’s confusion over Muslim politics. While some leaders disagreed, others defended him. DYFI state secretary M Vijin said, "We disagree because Malappuram is the land of secularism."
KOZHIKODE: The reactions of CPM leaders to the controversial remarks made by former MLA P Nandakumar on Malappuram have once again exposed the continuing confusion within the party on how to deal with the phenomenon of Muslim politics in the state. Nandakumar, who has decades of political experience in Malappuram, said on Saturday that the district has become "the hub of fundamentalists and extremists".
The party is keen on isolating the hawkish elements in the Muslim community, while taking the secular forces in the community into confidence. The CPM believes that the influence wielded by the Jamaat-e-Islami on the IUML has forced the latter to shun its secular politics and take a more aggressive posture. But lack of clarity often lands some CPM leaders in the precarious situation of targeting the whole community or a geographical area, as in the case of Nandakumar.
Former MLA K T Jaleel was the first to realise the danger of Nandakumar's remarks. In a Facebook post on Saturday, shortly after Nandakumar's statement kicked off a row, Jaleel tried to uphold the secular tradition of Malappuram district. DYFI state secretary M Vijin said his organisation does not agree with what Nandakumar said. "We disagree with Nandakumar because we believe that Malappuram is the land of secularism," he said.
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CPM state secretary M V Govindan tried to set things right by saying that Malappuram is a place that has witnessed valiant freedom struggles in the 1920s. "People from all faiths participated in the agitation. As far as the political equation in Malappuram is concerned, the Jamaat-e-Islami has come to stage that the organisation is able to influence the ideological positions of the IUML," he said, adding that what Nandakumar said is not about the district, but about the political equation existing there.
Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan was more forthright in defending Nandakumar. Speaking at a public rally in Malappuram, he said Nandakuamar's words has been twisted. Recalling the anti-imperialist struggles in Malappuram, Pinarayi said that there is no space for religious hatred in the district. "At the same time, we should not be blind to the growing communalism and what Nandakumar said was to be vigilant against such attempts," he said.
Significantly, Pinarayi recalled the historical agitation by beedi workers in Ponnani. "People from all castes and religions participated in the agitation," he said, suggesting that people should be organised on the basis of class and not by religion. Earlier, Nandakumar also clarified that he was not speaking against the district as a whole. There are attempts from the RSS on the one side and the IUML-Jamaat combine on the other to create communal polarisation, he said.
But the UDF found the remarks as the latest example of the CPM's continuing Muslim bashing. Chief Minister V D Satheesan said the CPM has not learned any lesson from its defeat in the assembly election. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the CPM leader should withdraw the statement and offer an apology.