Tiruvanthapuram, September 26: Left fellow traveller and former Member of Parliament Sebastian Paul has hit out at Communist Party of India (Marxist) Kerala secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, saying he was surrounded by a coterie.
The journalist-turned three-time MP from Ernakulam was reacting to an article in the party’s mouthpiece ‘Deshabhimani’ on Thursday, berating him for his reported criticism of the party’s approach towards the media.
In an article in a prominent Malayalam daily, the former MP had termed the attack on the media by the party in general and Vijayan in particular over the coverage of the Paul Muthoot George murder case and SNC Lavalin power scam as an onslaught against the freedom of the Press.
He told private television channels at Cochin on Friday that as a journalist and a public activist, he could not remain a mute spectator when the media came under attack. “I am not a member of the CPI (M). I have the freedom to say what I feel right”, he added.
Paul, who was elected to the Lok Sabha thrice as the CPI (M) backed independent, said he had kept his eyes and ears closed to the wrong doings of the party and its leaders while he was an MP. “I am not supposed to continue the silence after remitting the office”, he said.
He said that the present approach of the Kerala CPI (M) leadership towards the media was similar to the one adopted by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during the Emergency.
–Agencies