Anvar apologises to Satheesan and sows dissension in Malappuram Congress

Nilambur MLA P V Anvar, who got elected with LDF support in 2016 and 2021, resigned as MLA on Monday, January 13, a day after he joined Trinamool Congress. 

He met Speaker A N Shamseer and handed over his resignation letter as is mandated by law. In fact, Anvar had sent his resignation by mail on January 11 itself. But for the letter to be officially considered, the MLA has to personally hand it to the Speaker.

Right away, Anvar set at rest the immediate curiosity that arose. Will he contest the by-election that has to be conducted within six months of his resignation? He will not. What's more, he declared unconditional support to the UDF candidate for the Nilambur byelection.

At the press conference held after the resignation, Anvar broadcast a slew of political messages, some even contradictory, that seemed to contain his plans for the future. 

Anvar profusely apologised for hurling wild allegations against opposition leader V D Satheesan, positioned himself as the saviour of Christian settler farmers living under the fear of animal attacks, declared that his only agenda was the end of "Pinarayism", promised unconditional support to the Congress candidate in the imminent Nilambur by-poll, and at the same sought to mischievously aggravate internal tensions in the Malappuram district Congress by ridiculing Aryadan Shoukath and preferring Malappuram DCC president V S Joy as Nilambur's UDF candidate in the bypoll.

Anvar's Mea Culpa
Anvar said it was the Chief Minister's political secretary, P Sasi, who made him raise the allegation against the opposition leader in the Assembly. He prefaced his confession by saying that he was "carrying the burden of many sins".

Anvar admitted that he was more than willing to level the charge at Satheesan. "I was angry with the opposition. I then thought they were relentlessly attacking Pinarayi Vijayan and family for political gains. At that point he was like a father figure for me," Anvar said. 

He said the allegation was drafted for him by Sasi. The charge was that Satheesan was paid Rs 150 crore by IT companies to sabotage the Silverline project. Anvar also said that the money had reached Kerala in a van transporting fish.

"Then, I believed 75% of the charge. Still I asked Sasi whether there was any basis and he said these were absolutely true. When I told him that it would be better if any of the CPM MLAs raised the issue, he said I was the right person. And it was the party that secured permission from the Speaker to level this allegation in the Assembly," Anvar said. The case was eventually dropped by the Vigilance.

He said he suspected that the allegation was a conspiracy hatched by Sasi to make him the biggest enemy of the Congress. "I apologise to Satheesan and his family for the damage this has caused," Anvar said.

Martyr of the high ranges
A repentant Anvar then transformed into the voice of the high range settler farmers. He exhorted the UDF to block the tabling of the Kerala Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

"Forest officials want people to leave the Western Ghats. And through this amendment, the LDF government wants to give these forest officials the same powers as that of the police. Never before had forest officials any right to intervene in law and order issues. This is serious," Anvar said.

Anvar also painted his decision to give up his legislator status as a sacrifice he was making for the cause of settler farmers.

He said that he resigned because Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee told him to take up the cause of settler farmers in Kerala immediately. "She said that if I did so, she would talk with the Congress and other Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) leaders and make a joint push in Parliament for an amendment to the Forest Conservation Act," Anvar said.

Secret 'Joy' in Congress discomfort
After promising unconditional support to the Congress candidate in the coming Nilambur bypoll, Anvar insisted that Malappuram DCC president V S Joy should be the candidate. He said Joy lived in the affected areas and was also a Christian, which according to Anvar is the community that was suffering the most in this human-animal conflict.

Clearly, he was making it difficult for Aryadan Shoukath to claim candidature. Shoukath is one of the Congress leaders who had strongly opposed Anvar's entry into the UDF. It was Aryadan Shoukath whom Anvar defeated when he won Nilambur for the first time in 2016. 

His responses to questions about Shoukath suggested that Anvar was determined not to take him seriously. When he was first asked about Shoukath, Anvar even feigned ignorance. "Who? You mean Aryadan Mohammad's son," he said. "Let him sit and write stories. Why bother him," he said.

Death of 'Pinarayism'
Anvar also cranked up his attack on the CPM. He said that all the damning revelations he made about ADGP Ajithkumar and the CM's political secretary P Sasi were done with the knowledge of top CPM leaders. "You think I am such a fool to embark on such a mission with the support of only lower-level leaders," he said. However, despite repeated proddings, Anvar refused to divulge names.

"But once the CM rejected all my charges and turned the allegations against me, calling me a smuggler even, these people stopped all communication. I tried calling them for 48 hours and none of them picked up their phones," Anvar said.

He said his only agenda was to end "Pinarayism", and for that, he said he was willing to make any compromises.

Mahua Moitra in Nilambur
Even before the UDF could respond to Anvar's overtures, Anvar said that top Trinamool leaders like Mahua Moitra would fly down to Nilambur and make stump speeches for the Congress candidate.  

He also said there was nothing odd about Trinamool Congress's support for Congress in Kerala when it was pitched against the party in Bengal. "In Bengal, the Congress is in an alliance with the CPM, and there is no way Trinamool could support a party in the CPM alliance. Here it is different," Anvar said.