Thiruvananthapuram: Together, the CPM and its central committee member E P Jayarajan seem to have put out the political flames that erupted from a short circuit that occurred in the duct through which the manuscript of Jayarajan's political memoir flowed to a publishing house.
In earlier instances, when he was passed over for the CPM state secretary’s job or when he was removed from the post of the LDF convenor, Jayarajan sulked around for everyone to see. But this time, the moment the mishap happened, Jayarajan distanced himself from the leaked memoir in a very assured and confident manner.
He firmly disowned the observations in the leaked memoir that was circulated as his. Also, Jayarajan said that he had not entered into a pact with any publishing house. He even shot off a compliant to the State Police Chief saying there was a conspiracy.
And on Thursday, to muffle any further speculation of internal dissent, the CPM transported Jayarajan to Palakkad and made him star speaker at LDF candidate P Sarin's election meeting. At the press conference held before the public meeting, Jayarajan called Sarin the "ideal youth" and the "best candidate Palakkad could hope for".
This was antivenom for the toxins unleashed against Sarin in the leaked memoir. "A person who had shifted allegiances overnight," is how Sarin is described in the manuscript that Jayarajan has now repudiated. "It should be examined whether such people arrive lured solely by the loaves and fishes of office," it says.
However, at the election meeting in Palakkad on Thursday (November 14), Jayarajan said that Sarin had sacrificed a high-paying job to take up public work. He went even further. "Even while working for the Congress, Sarin's heart was with the people. Politically, in his ideas of social service, he was inclined towards the Left. It was Leftist ideals that motivated him during his youth," Jayarajan said.
The party, too, seems eager to put things back to normal. CPM state secretary M V Govindan said that the party had no intention of seeking an explanation from Jayarajan. "What is the need for such an explanation," he told reporters on Wednesday.
It is the deliberate silence of DC Books, the publishing house accused of releasing Jayarajan's unauthorised memoir, that has given Jayarajan's claims a semblance of credibility. "DC Books is one of the most reputed publishing houses in the country. No political leader, however mighty he is, can accuse such a publishing house of criminal behaviour and get away with it. If Jayarajan has done it, it is only because he is convinced that he has not done anything wrong," a CPM state committee member said.
There is also talk within the party that Jayarajan could have written these highly critical observations right after he was replaced as LDF convenor but could have thought against publishing it after a recent truce brokered by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Jayarajan, who had kept away from party meetings, attended the CPM Central Committee meeting held in Delhi earlier this month. "The leak could have been a blunder made in haste by the publisher," a CPM leader said.
The owner of DC Books, Ravi Deecee, said nothing to ease the puzzle. He did not defend his publishing house, nor did he rebuff Jayarajan. Instead, at the Sharjah Book Festival on Thursday, Deecee made a vague and confusing remark. "We are just facilitators," he said. Was he saying that DC Books was approached by someone other than Jayarajan to publish the memoir? It is not clear.
Deecee also said he was reserving his comments as he "respected people in public life". This has led to speculation that he has evidence to nail Jayarajan but was keeping quiet for the moment. Perhaps, DC Books will submit the evidence before the police. The case is being investigated by the Kottayam District Police Chief.