KPA Majeed
Menon, who served as chief minister from Nov 1, 1969, to March 25, 1977, brought land reforms in Keralam, he said. When Keralam observed the golden jubilee of land reforms in 2019, the then chief minister Vijayan didn’t even mention Menon’s name in his speech, Majeed said. CPI’s suffocation within LDF for the past 25 years reached its peak with the fall of Pinarayi govt and anyone who believed in democracy would feel distressed by the situation, he added.
CPI had a distinct identity in modern Keralam’s political history, irrespective of its electoral victories and defeats, he said. After the communist movement split, CPI commanded the chief minister’s post and continued in power for nearly a decade without CPM, Majeed said. Ignoring history, CPM had credited the land reforms only to EMS Namboodiripad and K R Gouri Amma, Majeed said. CPM will never accept that Keralam became a “number one” state when IUML, Congress and CPI governed together, Majeed said.
Kozhikode : The identity of Communist Party of India (CPI) diminished after coming under CPM’s control, stated Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) national vice-president KPA Majeed in a column published by IUML mouthpiece Chandrika. However, the party diminished itself after coming under CPM’s control, with CPI neither having secured the chief minister’s nor the deputy chief minister’s post since the formation of Left Democratic Front (LDF). The revolutionary legislation was implemented by a CPI-led govt. CPM was the only party that refused to acknowledge this reality, he alleged. Vijayan ignored the issue despite CPI mouthpiece Janayugom protesting through an editorial, he added.
The posts of LDF chairperson and convener were also held by CPM, he said, adding that the “master-slave” relationship remained largely unchanged whether the front was in power or in opposition. The C Achutha Menon govt, supported by Muslim League, Congress and CPI, laid the foundation for Keralam’s development, Majeed said. The state’s globally recognised model in education and healthcare also took shape during that period, he added.