The death of CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury may have only fleetingly taken pressure off the Pinarayi Vijayan government to remove a top police officer for meeting RSS leaders; indications are that the controversy is set to snowball.

Even as the entire Kerala CPM leadership was away in Delhi mourning Yechury, Goa governor P.S. Sreedharan Pillai has stirred the pot further by alleging the continued prevalence of “political untouchability” in his home state. Pillai is a past president of the Kerala BJP.

Pillai didn’t find any reason other than the issue of “second-class citizens” in Kerala to rake up the controversy out of ADGP M.R. Ajith Kumar’s meetings with RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale and senior leader Ram Madhav.

“The treatment of certain people as second-class citizens shatters the very foundation of democracy. The RSS does not need publicity, and hence no explanations are required,” Pillai said.

He was inaugurating a function to commemorate the first death anniversary of former BJP leader P.P. Mukundan in Kozhikode last Friday, the day Yechury passed away in Delhi leaving his party in shock and mourning.

Union minister and first-time BJP MP from Kerala, Suresh Gopi, who was honoured at the programme, wanted the government to declare those who propagate political untouchability as “criminals”.

“I view these discussions surrounding the ADGP’s meetings with RSS leaders with utter contempt,” Gopi said.

In the wake of Yechury’s passing — and the consequent absence top leaders from the state — many have interpreted the CPM’s or the government’s lack of reaction to Pillai’s comments as lending moral support to ADGP Ajith Kumar.

“Pillai’s remark that no explanations are required is interesting since Pinarayi too has not asked the ADGP for an explanation,” said political commentator Umesh Babu, who also pointed out that in the past both the Congress and the CPM used to refer to the RSS and BJP as “chanakam”(cow dung). “Vijayan may have a different opinion now,” Umesh Babu added cryptically.

Police use water cannon to diperse the activists of Welfare Party of India during their protest demanding his resignation over serious allegations against M.R. Ajith Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Law and Order, in Thiruvananthapuram, Wednesday. PTI

Vijayan, without referring to the ADGP controversy, had at a public event mid-week recounted the CPM’s fight against the RSS in the state and accused the Congress of being in collusion with the Sangh Parivar.

The Opposition Congress and the ruling CPI have been demanding the removal of Ajith Kumar who, according to them, had brought “disgrace” to the entire police force in the state by holding secret parleys with RSS leaders.

Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan had gone a step further by alleging that Ajith Kumar was just a “messenger” of chief minister Vijayan. “The ADGP was sent to negotiate a deal by Vijayan who wants the central investigation agencies to go slow on cases relating to his daughter,” Satheesan had said.

At a meeting of the ruling Left Democratic Front, Vijayan had papered over objections raised by certain partners, including the CPI, over the ADGP-RSS meetings.

It is reported that Vijayan said he would rather wait for the report of a committee he had set up under the DGP to look into the allegations.

However, those who are in the know point out that four out of the five members of the committee are Ajith Kumar’s subordinates. Ajith Kumar has been “gracious” enough to tell his four officers not to report to him till such time as the committee submits
its findings.

“How can you expect justice from such a committee?” wondered a CPI leader who demanded anonymity.