KPCC chief K Sudhakaran.
Credit: Twitter/@SudhakaranINC
Thiruvananthapuram: The CPI(M) on Wednesday accused KPCC chief K Sudhakaran of supporting Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan's alleged appointment of people linked to the Sangh Parivar to university senates in the state.
Strongly condemning Sudhakaran's statement in this regard a day ago, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan alleged that it was a 'conspiracy' by the Congress leader to 'destroy the secular tradition of Kerala' and urged all democratic forces to take a stand against this move.
Congress, however, defended Sudhakaran, saying that the Kannur MP is one of those who have been suspended from the Lok Sabha by the 'Sangh Parivar government,' and no Congressman in Kerala will enter into any arrangement with Governor Khan.
In a statement, the CPI(M) leader alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre was moving forward with policies to liberalise the education sector, and they are trying to implement this policy strongly by using governors in states ruled by opposition parties.
'As a part of that, the Governor has put forward the process of nominating Sangh Parivar members to the senate in the universities of Kerala. A strong protest against this has been raised from the academic community, including the students and the general public. But Sudhakaran has now declared his support for the Governor's action of nominating Sangh Parivars as part of saffronisation,' Govindan alleged.
The CPI(M) leader said both Congress-led UDF and his party-led LDF in Kerala have generally adopted a defensive stance against the Sangh Parivar, but 'Sudhakaran has devised plans to subvert this situation and tie the Congress to the camp of the Sangh Parivar.' Secularists in the Congress should come out strongly against this, he said.
Govindan alleged that Sudhakaran is the one who has already held talks with the BJP and had hinted that he will take a step towards it.
Even Jawaharlal Nehru, who took a strong stand against the Sangh Parivar, was declared a friend of the Sangh Parivar by Sudhakaran, Govindan alleged.
He criticised the KPCC president's position, saying it's an insult to democratic Kerala to align with Sangh Parivar. The CPI(M) leader also urged leaders in Congress and its partners in UDF, who support secular values, to clarify their stance on the matter.
Defending Sudhakaran, Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan said the UDF will not be complicit in anything wrong done by the Governor.
What the KPCC president meant was that good people should be appointed in the university senates.
When there was ambiguity in his statement, Sudhakaran himself issued a statement clarifying his stand, Satheesan said.
He alleged that it was Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who appointed the well-known Sangh Parivar leader as a staff member in the Governor's office.
At that time, the Governor and the Chief Minister were good friends, he alleged.
When the opposition accused the Governor of going out of the way, it was the Chief Minister who threw a ring of protection around him, Satheesan alleged.
The Congress leader also termed the ongoing fight between the Left Government and the Governor over various issues as a drama and alleged that it is being enacted whenever the Vijayan-led government is on the defensive.
In Kerala on Tuesday, a controversy arose over Sudhakaran's statement supporting the alleged appointment of Sangh Parivar members to university Senates by Governor Khan, who acts as the chancellor.
Sudhakaran, speaking to media in New Delhi, had said that the Sangh Parivar is a democratic party, and therefore, there's no reason to oppose the nomination of qualified persons, even if they are affiliated with such groups.
He had also said that the Congress will assess the qualifications of the chancellor's nominees, and if they are deemed unqualified, the party will oppose their appointments. PTI TGB TGB SS