Left Democratic Front convener E.P. Jayarajan has sued Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran, BJP State vice-president Sobha Surendran, and alleged political fixer T.G. Nandakumar for libel.
On Monday, the CPI(M) State secretariat mandated Mr. Jayarajan to seek legal recourse and bring to justice those who cast him as a potential BJP defector for their slanderous remarks.
Mr. Jayarajan demanded that the respondents withdraw their statements and render a public apology or face civil and criminal action. The CPI(M) central committee member has sought. ₹2 crore in damages if the respondents refused to relent.
Mr. Sudhakaran had dropped a political bombshell on election day by claiming that BJP State in-charge Prakash Javadekar had met Mr. Jayarajan in the company of Mr. Nandakumar in 2023. He said Mr. Jayarajan felt deeply disgruntled that he was passed over for the CPI(M) State secretary post and inclined to test the waters with the BJP. It did not help Mr. Jayarajan that Ms. Surendran claimed she was also a part of the process of making the LDF convener defect to the BJP.
The CPI(M) State secretariat asked Mr. Jayarajan to sever his links with Mr. Nandakumar. It felt that Mr. Nandakumar had taken advantage of Mr. Jayarajan’s geniality and welcomeness.
The party cautioned workers against associating with or being a part of a company of dubious persons. The CPI(M) also spotlighted Mr. Jayarajan’s long years in the party and his sacrifices.
It remembered that Mr. Jayarajan had survived a fatal RSS attack on board a train in 1995. It also mentioned his ideological purity and said the media speculation that a communist of Mr. Jayarajan’s nature would defect to the BJP was mere pulp fiction.
Mr. Sudhakaran and senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said the CPI(M) was merely resorting to sabre rattling. They said that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would dare not act against Mr. Jayarajan, fearing that more skeletons would tumble out of the party’s closet. Mr Sudhakaran portrayed Mr. Jayarajan as the corner of a corrupt edifice built by Mr. Vijayan, and the party dared not rock it.
