CPI (M) welcomes criticism from all quarters, says will take corrective action where needed

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 14 (PTI) The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala on Sunday said it welcomes criticism from all quarters and takes corrective action where required.

CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan was responding to reporters' queries regarding the recent pointed critique of authoritarianism in politics by Malayalam literary doyen and Jnanpith laureate M T Vasudevan Nair.

Govindan said that Nair actually read out something that he had written back in 2003 when the A K Antony led-UDF government was in power and questioned the media how it could be sure that the writer was referring to Pinarayi Vijayan and the Left government.

Delivering the keynote address at a literary festival in Kozhikode on Thursday, MT had taken a dig at politicians, in the presence of Chief Minister Vijayan, stating that power gives way to dominance or authoritarianism at times.

He was recalling the legacy of Kerala's well respected legendary Marxist and the first chief minister of the state, EMS Namboothiripad, when he made the remarks.

In his speech, MT had also said politics was stooping to new lows every day and that political activities have become an approved way of attaining power.

"Power, at times, gives way to dominance or even authoritarianism. A position in the Assembly, cabinet or Parliament has now become an opportunity to dominate over others. The theory of identifying power as a better opportunity to serve people has been buried," MT had said.

His speech soon went viral on social media platforms as a section of netizens and the opposition Congress-led UDF attributed his sharp references to Vijayan, while the ruling CPI(M) and pro-Left writers and cultural leaders outrightly rejected the notion.

On Sunday, another writer, novelist M Mukundan too came out with criticism of politicians saying that "we are living in a time where crowns rule".

Speaking at the ongoing literary festival in Kozhikode, Mukundan said that while he believes a drop of blood is more important than any crown, "unfortunately, it is the crown which is getting more powerful each day." "We need to show that the crown can be blown away from the heads wearing it. Ours is a democracy.

"So we need to use our votes to show the value of blood and prove that the crown is irrelevant. The elections are round the corner. When the polls come, we can remember this discussion," he said. PTI