Former CPI (M) Member of Parliament from Ottaplam, S. Sivaraman, said he has resigned from the primary membership of the party and as the board member of Kerala Khadi Board and the Administrative Committee of Kunchan Smarakam, citing ideological differences with the party.
However, the CPI (M) claimed that Sivaraman was 'expelled' from the party for 'gross indiscipline', and that there were no ideological or organizational differences with the party.
Addressing media persons here on Wednesday, Mr. Sivaraman has said that he left the party as “the CPI (M) has deviated from its basic programmes and policies, and has moved away from people like the scheduled castes and backward communities. The State leadership of the party has become a pro-real estate mafia. The party policies are helping the rich sections like them (real-estate businessmen).”
Mr. Sivaraman said that so called “corrective measures” taken up by the party central leadership against the policy deviations is only an eye-wash. There are no serious efforts to correct the mistakes and deviations in the party. The party leaders are interested to protect the rich and the policies and programmes are tuned with such an aim, he alleged.
He added that when he was in the party, he remained loyal to it and always followed the official party line.
Mr. Sivaraman was also a member of the Ottapalam area committee and secretary of the Lakkidi branch committee of the party.
He is the third former M.P from the CPI (M) who has quit the party recently. The two others who had left the party recently are Dr. E.M. Manoj (Alleppey) and Abdullakutty (Kannur).
S. Sivaraman was once the most popular youth leader of the party in the Palakkad district when he won the Ottapalam (Reserved for SC) seat with the all-time record margin of 1,33,674 votes in the by-election in 1993. He defeated the seasoned Congress leader K.K. Balakrishnan, when former President K.R. Narayanan vacated the seat after becoming the Vice President.
It was a landmark victory as the 1993 poll was fought on the issue of demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya.
The Muslim community was then agitated over the Congress regime’s failure to protect the monument. There are more than two lakh Muslim voters in the constituency.
The constituency was a Left stronghold until Mr. Narayanan entered the fray as a Congress candidate in 1984.
In the three successive elections since then, he defeated A.K. Balan (present Elecricity Minister) once and Lenin Rajendra (film director) twice.
S. Sivaraman brought back the party traditional fort in the 1993 by-election and since then, it remained with the CPI (M) and the party won the last Lok Sabha election too.
The political circles in the state feel the exit of Mr. Sivaraman from the party will be a loss for the CPI (M).
Party refutes 'expelled' Sivaraman's claims
The district secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist) P. Unni in a statement here on Wednesday has said that the Ottapalam area committee member of the party S. Sivaraman was expelled from the party for 'gross indiscipline'.
The statement said that his wife Jayabharathy, who was working as a cashier in the Ottapalam Co-operative Urban Bank, was found guilty of some irregularities and she was de-promoted from cashier to day watcher. She herself had admitted the irregularity during the domestic inquiry by the bank.
Though she was found guilty for serious criminal offence, the bank gave the consideration to her as a woman and did not remove her from its service.
But when the matter came for discussion in the party committee meeting, Mr. Sivaraman took the stand that no action should be taken against his wife.
But for this there was no ideological or organizational difference he had with the party. Thus his statement against the party is most irresponsible and false, the district secretary said.
