CPI(M) Never Cooperated with RSS: Kerala CM

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday strongly denied any political cooperation between the CPI(M) and the RSS during the Emergency period, branding the right-wing outfit a "communal force" that had systematically targeted and killed Marxist cadres over the decades.
Addressing the media on the eve of the crucial Nilambur Assembly bypoll, Vijayan dismissed as "sheer nonsense" the claims circulating in media and by the opposition suggesting a past collaboration between CPI(M) and the RSS. He asserted that such narratives were being deliberately twisted and falsely attributed to CPI(M) leaders in order to mislead voters and gain political mileage.
The Chief Minister categorically stated, "There was no relation between the CPI(M) and the RSS during the Emergency period. We had no connection even with the Jan Sangh, the political wing associated with the RSS, at that time."
Pinarayi Vijayan stated that the party has repeatedly compromised its secular principles for political convenience and has, on several occasions, maintained ties with the RSS at both national and local levels.
He also highlighted that the RSS had killed 215 CPI(M) workers in Kerala over the years and that this violence continued even in the post-Emergency period of 1977–79. “RSS is a communal group which has been waiting with weapons to murder us,” he said.
In a veiled swipe at Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, Pinarayi Vijayan said, "No CPI(M) leader has ever bowed before the photos of RSS leaders or paid respect to them." He also recalled former KPCC president K. Sudhakaran's controversial remark that Congress workers had once guarded RSS shakhas in Kannur.
Refuting attempts to equate CPI(M)’s support to the Janata Party in 1977 with any association with the RSS or Jan Sangh, Pinarayi Vijayan said such interpretations were deeply misleading. “Just because Jan Sangh merged with the Janata Party doesn’t mean CPI(M) had any ties with the RSS,” he said.
The Chief Minister emphasized that CPI(M) had independently opposed the authoritarian actions of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, without aligning with any communal or right-wing forces.
Pinarayi Vijayan went on to claim that the Congress and its allies had in fact formed covert alliances with right-wing elements for electoral gains. As an example, he cited the 1980 Kasaragod parliamentary election, where the UDF's joint candidate was not from the Congress or IUML, but Jan Sangh leader O. Rajagopal — who later became a BJP Union Minister.
Citing books and journals, CM also accused Indira Gandhi of maintaining friendly ties with the RSS during the post-Emergency period. Further, he alleged that the Congress-led UDF had worked hand-in-glove with the RSS and its affiliates in several Lok Sabha and state elections since the 1980s.