In the name of God, Another Christian heavyweight ‘leaves’ CPM

Another heavyweight ‘leaves’ CPM
VR Jayaraj | Kochi – Daily Pioneer

Former MLA and well-known cooperative expert MM Monayi has renounced his membership in the CPI(M) of Kerala over alleged differences of opinion with the official leadership. However, Monayi said he would remain a follower of the CPI(M) though he would not anymore be a member of it officially.

Though Monayi, who enjoys strong support of the Church, is saying that he did not renew the membership in the party after it expired eight months ago because of personal reasons and lack of time due to the hurries associated with the lawyer’s profession he is pursuing, there are reports that he decided to leave the party due to the divisionist wars in its Ernakulam district unit.

Monayi, said to be loyalist of central committee member VS Achuthanandan, had irked the party’s leadership in 2006 when he took oath as MLA in the name of God. The party had removed him from the position of chairman of the Ernakulam District Cooperative Bank earlier and the bank had then reportedly discontinued some of the initiatives he had started in it.

Despite the decision not to renew party membership, he would continue on the director boards of Karali TV and the AP Varkey Medical Mission, both controlled by the CPI(M). It is yet to be clear whether the party leadership would ask him to leave these positions as his decision to withdraw from active party work has now become public.

Sources in the party’s Ernakulam district unit say that such incidents could have been the actual reason behind Monayi’s decision not to renew his membership in the CPI(M). It is also said that the antagonistic attitude of the official leadership of the State CPI(M) because of his close relationship with a senior leader of the Achuthanandan group could have led to his decision.

However, Monayi said there was nothing dramatic about his decision to keep away from active political work. “I had discussed the matter with the leadership. There is nothing surprising about it. I will remain as a party worker but not as a member,” he said, adding that the decision not to continue in the party was taken after its 20th congress held in Kozhikode in April last.

CPI(M)-watchers view the development as a reflection of the white collar culture strengthening within the party. “What we are seeing is that many in the party do not want to be associated with its day-to-day works for which they will have to interact with the ordinary workers> But they have no problem in occupying positions in party establishments,” a former CPI(M) theorist said.

Several heavyweight leaders had left the CPI(M) in Kerala in the past three years. The first in the series was former Marxist MP AP Abdullakutty of Kannur whom the party expelled for praising Narendra Modi’s development model and for defending his religious rights. Abdullakutty is now the Congress MLA from Kannur.

The other leaders to follow Abdullakutty included the former MPs, KS Manoj of Alappuzha and S Sivaraman of Ottapalam. However, the biggest jolt the CPI(M) suffered was when R Selvaraj resigned as party MLA and from the party itself on March 9 last. Selvaraj was elected as MLA of the Congress from Neyyattinkara again in a by-poll on June 2.

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