CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran remained unapologetic for not coming to the defence of Annie Raja when she was attacked by CPM leader M M Mani.
Kanam is said to have told the CPI Thiruvananthapuram District Conference on Sunday that Annie Raja, being a national executive member of the CPI, should have first consulted the CPI state leadership before making comments on issues related to Kerala.
He said the CPI state leadership was not obliged to come to Raja's rescue.
Top CPI sources said that Kanam told the Conference that he had written to the CPI national leadership seeking a discussion on Annie Raja's comments. Kanam made these observations while replying to the general discussion on the CPI working report. Members had panned Kanam for his mute response to Mani's offensive remarks against Annie Raja during the general discussion.
Annie Raja had criticised M M Mani for the offensive remarks he had made against RMP MLA K K Rema in the Assembly. Provoked, Mani shot back with a phrase containing a dirty word to essentially convey that her area of work was in New Delhi. He added: “She better mind her business there, not here. How would she know the issues we face in the Kerala assembly. I don't mind whatever she says. I stand by what I said.”
Not someone who is easily cowed down, Raja termed Mani's remarks misogynist and condemnable. She said the LDF should introspect if Mani's words were proper or not. “I have been engaged with Left and feminist political activism in Delhi for years. I won't bow before any threat. Even Narendra Modi or Amit Shah could not threaten me,” Raja said.
CPI Idukki district secretary K K Sivaraman was withering in his criticism of Mani for his offensive remarks against Raja. He termed Mani's words “extremely crude”. He reminded Mani that Brinda Karat was also working in Delhi. He said Mani's foul remarks against Raja were the latest in a series of obscene comments he had made against women leaders.
Sivarama said it was highly misleading to interpret Mani's utterances as a kind of earthy slang. “Working class people do not use such language against each other,” he said.
Kerala Mahila Sangham and CPI's youth wing All India Youth Federation (AIYF) had also registered their protest against Mani's remarks on Raja.
Despite the anger all around, Kanam thought it fit to ignore Mani's attack on Raja. He refused to make any comment. He did not even respond to Mani's "widowhood is her fate" comment against Rema, saying it was a matter for the Speaker to deal with. Later, Speaker M B Rajesh ruled Mani's remarks in the Assembly against K K Rema as inappropriate and medieval in tone and asked Mani to withdraw them.
Besides Raja, CPI MP Binoy Viswam had also criticised Mani though in sugar-coated terms.