The Kerala unit of the CPI(M) has been plunged into a crisis with the emergence of an alleged embezzlement case in Dubai involving the son of Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the party’s State Secretary and also a member of its Politburo.
Exploding on its face at a time when district-level meetings are being convened, ahead of the larger State-level conference, tThe development is considered a major embarrassment for the ruling party.
The trouble began with a Dubai-based tour services operator raising a complaint that Benoy Balakrishnan had cheated the company of ₹13 crore and was absconding.
The company said the Dubai Public Prosecutor had proclaimed Benoy to be a wilful defaulter, and had asked it to approach Interpol to bring him to book in Dubai.
However, Benoy has denied any pending case in Dubai, but admitted to some business deals with a fellow Keralite that landed in a dispute, but has since been settled.
This is the first time that a party Politburo member and head of a State unit has been dragged into a case abroad that involves his immediate kin, and been referred to Interpol as an absconder.
CPI’s sniper fireThe episode would have repercussions in Kolkata, where party leaders would meet shortly for the CPI(M) national congress, and would also present a nightmare to the Prakash Karat-led faction.
It would also boost the morale of the Bengal faction rallying around party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, whose proposal to reach an electoral understanding with the Congress had been repeatedly shot down in internal forums in recent times.
Back in Kerala, the will find itself under fire from the CPI, its biggest ally in the LDF government. The CPI has been at loggerheads with its senior partner ever since the Pinarayi Vijayan government took office in May 2016.
Meanwhile, both Opposition Congress and the BJP have demanded that Kodiyeri Balakrishnan resign or retire from politics to keep up with the lofty ideals of value-based politics.