1962: When CPI said donating blood to jawans was anti-party activity
The government at that time had sent many comrades to jail.
Many from the Communist Party of India have spoken out against the Indian Army and its Chief General Bipin Rawat. It comes as no surprise that this bashing takes place on a daily basis. In this regard it would be interesting to recall what took place in 1962 when China was at war with India.
The former Chief Minister of Kerala V S Achutanandan who was a CPM politburo member at that time was sacked for suggesting that they should organise a blood donation camp for the Indian Army soldiers.
The pro-India line he took was declared anti-party by the Communists. It was an known fact that during the 1962 war, the CPI had supported China. They cited ideology and put the same above the nation.
The government at that time had sent many comrades to jail. Achutanandan who was also thrown into jail suggested that the narrative must change against the party. He was part of the jail committee in the Thiruvananthapuram central jail.
During one meeting he suggested that donating blood to the jawans and contributing money from the sale of prison ration would help them overcome the image of them being Chinese agents. The proposal was immediately shot down by O J Joseph a communist leader.
VS however did not give up and tried at the next meeting. This led to a scuffle between him and Joseph. The jail authorities had to intervene and subsequently the news leaked to the media. Jyoti Basu who was part of the West Bengal CPI ordered an inquiry into the incident. The row escalated and VS dropped his plan.
In
1965
a
party
worker
filed
a
complaint
with
the
party
leadership.
In
his
complaint
he
spoke
about
the
anti-party
activities
of
VS.
A
probe
was
immediately
order
and
VS
was
found
guilty.
The
Kerala
committee
of
the
party
ratified
the
probe
findings
and
came
to
the
view
that
the
views
taken
by
VS
was
anti-communist.
VS
was
then
demoted
from
the
central
committee
to
the
branch
level.
The CPM while demoting VS said that he had decided to donate blood to the jawans without consulting with the party. His move amounted to helping the Indian government and hence the action was anti-party.
OneIndia News