In an open letter, Bharatiya Janata Party national working committee member P.S. Sreedharan Pillai has appealed to Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat to take the lead to end the politics of violence in the State and do some introspection to find out the reason for the “reverses suffered by the Marxist party in Indian political scene.”
In his letter Mr. Sreedharan Pillai remarked that while political clashes in the State could be ended without loss of time, if the CPI(M) decided to do so, “but, ironically, what is seen is CPI(M) killing its political rivals mercilessly and trying to put the blame on RSS activists for the heinous murders.”
Pointing out that the 20th CPI(M) Party Congress is the first national political convention to be held here since the national convention of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh held in 1957, Mr. Sreedharan Pillai said the party congress would be the right time for Mr. Karat to do some soul-searching to find out why his party, which had only a few years ago appeared to be emerging as the third biggest political force in the country, had suddenly found itself pushed to the backseat and was out of power in Kerala and West Bengal and did not have a presence in the Assembly in Bihar where it had been once the main Opposition party.
Referring to the decision of the 19th party congress in Coimbatore in 2008 to shun luxurious lifestyle and donations from undesirable and shady quarters, Mr. Sreedharan Pillai wondered if Mr. Karat believed these decisions were being followed in letter and spirit by communists in Kerala.
The BJP leader also blamed CPI(M) for political violence and alleged its workers were involved in a majority of political clashes reported in recent times.
