Kerala CM may defend officials but Anvar’s claims won’t be forgotten easily

After maintaining a stoic silence for 22 days, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has finally taken a public stand on the allegations raised by LDF MLA PV Anvar against a section of the state Home Department — he has strongly backed the latter and openly disowned the MLA.

Chastised, Anvar has gone silent after Vijayan’s public rebuke and a statement from the CPI(M) “requesting” him to avoid making public statements, but the issues he raised are now dominating internal discussions within the party.

A section within the party believes that even if there was some shred of truth in Anvar’s accusations, they got swept away by the barrage of claims he made, carried away by all the media and social media attention that he got. Also, he focused on bunkum rather than the genuine issues, they say.

Vijayan’s defence

Anvar, who was widely believed to be very close to Vijayan, levelled serious accusations against ADGP AR Ajithkumar and the chief minister’s political secretary, P Sasi, who is also a state committee leader of the CPI(M), at the beginning of this month.

Vijayan ordered a high-level inquiry into the allegations but did not remove the ADGP outright. Finally, on Saturday, the chief minister rubbished Anvar’s allegations at a press conference and went a step further by dismissing Anvar as someone “not with a Left Front background”.

No action likely

Given the chief minister’s strong confidence in Sasi and his position as a state committee member, it is highly unlikely that the party will take any action against him based solely on Anvar's allegations. “Anvar appears to be presenting crucial issues in public, as a means to gain media attention,” said KV Abdulkhader, former MLA and CPI(M) leader from Thrissur.

“Catering to the desires of the Right wing while claiming solidarity with the left is unacceptable. This stance has been clearly articulated by the CPI(M) state secretariat. Will Anvar continue to be dear to the Right-wing media, or will he stay aligned with the Left despite the criticism? That’s the real question. Let’s hope he finds the right position on this matter,” he added.

Ripples within the party

However, despite the CM’s defence, the Pandora’s box opened by Anvar has placed the party in a real bind, potentially resulting in a quagmire reminiscent of the severe factionalism that plagued it during the late 2000s. The only difference this time is that the rebel faction is not overtly visible; instead, the dissent is spreading through social media.

The issues Anvar raised are now dominating internal discussions within the party. This is especially notable as the party’s organizational conferences are underway in the lead-up to its congress scheduled for next April.

Anvar’s mistakes

A section of the party believes that Anvar “got carried away” by all the social media support from the party’s rank and file and started alleging “anything and everything” that shifted focus from the core accusations that may have been genuine.

According to highly placed sources within the party who are not supportive of P Sasi, Anvar’s allegations lack substance and evidence at this point. “It’s true that Sasi was previously expelled from the party for highly objectionable actions, even alleged rape. However, the current allegations of colluding with smugglers and corrupt officers sound absurd,” one source remarked.

“Got carried away”

“What went wrong for Anvar is that he got carried away by the social media support from the party rank and file. He started alleging anything and everything against Sasi, which, in turn, paved the way for the dubious ADGP to get off the hook,” another party state committee member told The Federal.

The chief minister’s open rebuke has made some ripples, as the support Anvar had been receiving over the past few weeks has started dwindling. Vijayan’s strong defence of the police against the allegation of pinching smuggled gold has proved crucial, as evidenced by the withdrawal of support from former MLA Karat Razack to Anvar. Razack, a businessman with connections to the bullion trade, has since distanced himself from the controversy.

Focus on “wrong issues”

Some in the party also believe that Anvar focused on the wrong issues. The party leadership would have been more concerned about the alleged nexus between top police officials and RSS-BJP leaders. However, with Anvar making a barrage of allegations, including murder and gold theft, the ADGP found an opening to defend himself by highlighting the absurdity of some of the claims, they believe.

“The ADGP’s controversial visits to RSS leaders were a much more serious issue, which got overshadowed by the blanket allegations that Anvar made,” said a party leader. “Had he focused on that aspect, it might have yielded better results,” the leader added.

“Apart from the conspiracy theories, the nexus between the Sangh Parivar and a section of the Kerala Police needs to be nipped. This was our opportunity and it seems we are letting it slip,” said a leader.

Anvar’s careless approach

The chief minister’s clarification came after both the party and the government were pushed to the brink, with a significant section of the party’s rank and file rallying behind Anvar. The media interpreted this as a factional rebellion, possibly backed by a section within the party. Although Anvar denied this theory, the reports continued to circulate.

What seemed to have irked Vijayan the most is Anvar spewing venom against his political secretary and police officers in front of the media instead of following the party’s protocol. He pointed out Anvar’s Congress background and said such behaviour did not befit a Left Front worker.

Vijayan said Anvar should have brought the matter directly to him instead. “He met the media three times before coming to my office and didn’t even respond to calls from my office. He shouldn’t have handled it that way,” the chief minister said.

Toeing the party line

It was only after Vijayan’s press conference that the party’s state secretariat and leaders openly slammed the MLA. However, the party remained cautious in its wording, issuing a statement that “requested” Anvar to avoid making public statements, as they were providing ammunition to the party’s detractors.

Anvar, too, seems unwilling to cross a line that would put him beyond the point of no return. He has decided to comply with the party’s directive, stating that he will not make any public statements until the high-level inquiry into ADGP Ajithkumar’s conduct is complete and the party reviews his allegations against Sasi.

Wait for probe report

The long-delayed probe report, which is now expected to absolve top police officers and dismiss any conspiracy, has angered even the CPI, a major coalition partner of the CPI(M), particularly since they contested in the sole constituency of Thrissur, where the BJP emerged victorious in Kerala.

Interestingly, the report is being prepared by none other than Ajithkumar, the very officer who is facing a barrage of allegations from Anvar.