Kerala CPI(M) secretary M.V. Govindan accuses UDF of distorting his remarks on Emergency-era alliance

The Hindu

18-06-2025

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] has not made any political alliance with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at any point in history, CPI(M) Kerala State secretary M.V. Govindan has said.
He accused the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and sections of the media of 'twisting' his recent comments to a television channel regarding the CPI(M) being a part of the Janata Party during the Emergency era, when Jana Sangh, the precursor to the Bharatiya Janata Party, was also a part of the umbrella alliance.
Mr. Govindan was speaking to presspersons here on Wednesday (June 18, 2025), on the eve of the crucial Nilambur byelection.
His comments had led to leaders of the UDF reiterating allegations of an understanding between the CPI(M) and the BJP, forcing LDF candidate M. Swaraj to explain the larger context of the umbrella alliance during the Emergency period.
Mr. Govindan said that in the face of the 'semi-fascist rule of the Congress during the Emergency, during which democratic rights had ceased to exist, parties of various hues had come together to resist it.'
'Several parties, including the socialists and the Swatantra Party, were part of this larger alliance. The CPI(M) has never its history had a direct political alliance with the RSS or the BJP. Nor would it happen in the future. In the elections after the Emergency, EMS Namboodiripad had uncategorically stated that the CPI(M) did not want any any vote from the RSS,' said Mr. Govindan.
Slams Congress
He accused the Congress on the other hand of having electoral alliances with the BJP and Sangh Parivar organisations on multiple occasions. 'After the Liberation Struggle as well as later in Vadakara and Beypore, the Congress allied with the Sangh to defeat the LDF. But we were able to overcome these challenges and win the elections,' he said.
He accused the Congress of 'whitewashing' Jamaat e-Islami, 'even though it has never rejected its original agenda of turning the nation into a theocracy.'
'For the first time, a democratic political organisation has allied with Jamaat e-Islami, which is acting as a counterpart to the RSS, which is implmenting a Hindutva agenda in the country. This act of the Congress and the Muslim League (IUML) with an eye on short term electoral gains will have long-term repercussions for our polity and the State. The LDF has taken a clear stance, rejecting both majority and minority communalism,' he said.
Mr. Govindan also alleged that Raj Bhavan is bring turned into 'the nerve centre of communalism.'
'Photographs of RSS leaders Hedgewar and Golwalkar have now been placed at Raj Bhavan. We are wondering whether they would also place the photographs of Godse and Savarkar, as the RSS considers them to be more important than Gandhi,' he said.
He also criticised the Kerala Governor's recent remarks against politicisation of higher educational institutions. 'Rather than rejecting all politics, we should be able to equip our students with the right kind of politics. How else would we get the next generation of leaders for the country?,' asked Mr. Govindan.