At 99 and amid what could be perceived as a peaceful retirement life despite health concerns, Kerala’s Communist stalwart V S Achuthanandan is in news, again. After an eventful political career spanning many decades, during which he constantly maintained a steadfast stance against religious fundamentalists of all colours, VS, as the former chief minister is popularly called, has all of a sudden become a tool in the hands of what his own party calls a hate propaganda machine. 

A statement made by VS way back in 2010, when he was the CM, has found its way to the film ‘The Kerala Story’ which is at the centre of a major political controversy in the state. The trailer of the film, which portrays Kerala as a fertile recruitment ground for the terror outfit Islamic State, has evoked sharp responses from the ruling CPM and the opposition Congress while the BJP, not surprisingly, has come out in support of the movie. The film, directed by Sudipto Sen, is slated for a May 5 release.

VS’ 2010 speech became a talking point as the trailer showed a female character screaming anxiously, “Our former chief minister has said that in 20 years Kerala will become an Islamic state”. Sen soon confirmed the character was referring to VS.

The former chief minister made the remarks on the attempts of a radical outfit to turn his state into a Muslim-dominated state during a press meet in Delhi. The director had added a part of the media interaction at the end of the film. But the Central Board of Film Certification has instructed to remove it.

Sen has maintained that it was VS' ‘startling remarks’ that triggered him to make the film. “VS Achuthanandan made a very startling comment. In fact, our film is a take-off from his comment. Important is what message he wanted to give which he could not give in Kerala. He came to Delhi and organised a press meet and made the statement. I think it's one of the most important documents on radicalisation of Keala,” Sen told a Malayalam TV channel, responding to the CBFC corrections. 

Supporters of Islamic outfits have come out slamming VS for, what they believe was, feeding Islamophobia. VS is not able to respond to the whole controversy due to ill health. However, those close to VS told Onmanoama that dragging the CPM veteran into the controversy was totally unwarranted and out of context. A former staffer of VS said the leader’s remarks were clearly about the Popular Front of India (PFI), an Islamic organisation which was banned recently. The then chief minister made the remarks following the shocking incident in which PFI workers chopped off the palm of T J Joseph, a Malayalam professor in a college in Kerala, for framing a question which allegedly offended Islam.

Here’s what VS said: “First they started as NDF (National Democratic Front) and gave youngsters training, money and weapons. They make them kill those who are against them. Or they hack hands and legs. This is what they do. People have understood all that. So now they have started participating in the celebrations on the national day (Independence Day) on August 15. Their move is to make India... Kerala, a Muslim-majority country after 20 years. For that, they influence youth and convert them to Islam by giving them money.” NDF is the previous incarnation of PFI.

The ‘20-year’ remark had become a controversy soon after VS made it with the opposition and Muslim outfits questioning it. However, the CPM leader stood by what he said. He told the Assembly that he stood by what he had said on PFI and attempts to misinterpret it as a remark targeting the Muslim community as a whole was meant to spread misunderstanding. VS said his intention was to expose the “subversive activities” of PFI and his statement was based on evidence recovered by police during the investigation into the attack on Professor Joseph. 

The former staff member of VS said the CPM veteran made the remarks based on an intelligence report prepared by a police officer who later showed his ideological leanings toward the Sangh Parivar. However, the said officer was not part of the state intelligence during the period. However, a top police officer during the VS regime, when Kodiyeri Balakrishnan was the home minister, told Onmanorama that VS must have relied on the reports submitted by the police as part of the investigation into the hand-chopping case. 

“In the months following the attack on the professor, raids were carried out at PFI’s offices across the state. Many pamphlets and propaganda materials were seized during the raids,” the officer said, suggesting that VS was referring to the contents of these documents. “He was only speaking about the radical elements, not against the religion. It’s wrong to portray his statements as against a religion,” the former officer said. 

“It’s totally wrong to portray VS as someone who would promote Islamophobia. He was a leader who had the guts to take on Hindutva and Islamic fundamentalists alike. He has proved that many times,” the former staff member said. He said the speech had not triggered any debate in the party at that time as nobody had a different opinion on PFI.