CPI(M) hints that action against Padmakumar will hinge on Sabarimala case outcome

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State committee on Friday signalled that it was deferring, at least for now, any disciplinary action against former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president A. Padmakumar, who was arrested and remanded in judicial custody in the Sabarimala gold-plated copper panel “misappropriation” case on Thursday.

CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan told a press conference that it was inherently erroneous to presume that Mr. Padmakumar’s indictment in the case amounted to a judicial validation of guilt.

Mr. Govindan added that the “trajectory of the investigation” and the outcome of the case would determine the CPI(M)’s course of action. When asked why the yardstick did not apply to CPI(M) leader and former Kannur district panchayat president P.P. Divya, whom the police had arrested and remanded in judicial custody in October on the charge of abetting the suicide of Additional District Magistrate Naveen Babu, Mr. Govindan said: “It is wrong to draw an analogy between two cases of starkly different nature. The party had taken the correct stance at the time.” (The CPI(M) had asked Ms. Divya to step down from the post of district panchayat president and downgraded her from the district committee to the branch committee.)

Mr. Govindan refused to speculate about the possibility of bringing the former and serving Devaswom Board Ministers under the ambit of the Sabarimala investigation.

Nevertheless, he stated that the CPI(M) would not shield those “who have misplaced the trust the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government pinned on them while entrusting them with key responsibilities, including holding high public office.”

‘No dichotomy’

Mr. Govindan also ruled out any dichotomy between the CPI(M)’s demand for the resignation of Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, who is facing accusations of serial sexual misconduct sans any police case, and the party’s stated position that only the court could deem a person guilty or innocent of a suspected felony. 

“The public outrage against Mr. Mamkootathil has metastasised into a people’s movement, with his fellow Congress members joining the chorus for his resignation. In his case, even resignation is not enough,” he quipped.

Mr. Govindan said the propaganda that Mr. Padmakumar’s arrest and the unfolding SIT probe had landed the CPI(M) in a crisis in the crucial election year was a chimaera conjured up by the media.

He dismissed right-wing activist Rahul Easwar’s statement that Mr. Padmakumar had backed the anti-government “Save Sabarimala” campaign in 2018 and had promised financial support, calling it a “belated” accusation with scarce contemporary relevance.