'I have done nothing wrong'

HENNAI: ‘‘I’ve done nothing unbecoming of a Communist. I will abide by any decision the party takes. I’ve lived a Communist and will die a Communist.’’ Those were the words with which WR Varadarajan defended himself during the CPM central committee’s hearing, following which he was expelled from all party posts. Days later, his body was recovered from Porur lake, the outcome of an apparent act of suicide.

Party insiders told TOI that Varadarajan, a veteran trade unionist in charge of coordinating the nationwide CPM-led labour movement, was on the verge of tears during the hearing on his conduct on February 6 in Kolkata. He barely uttered a few words when asked to respond to the allegations of moral turpitude against him. It was not preceded by a discussion either on the gravity of the charges.

‘‘Prakash Karat made a speech, listing out various factors that have been harming the party, including leaders’ moral turpitude, proximity to religion and friendship with the bourgeois class. He said the Tamil Nadu state committee had recommended disciplinary action against Varadarajan. Karat was virtually urging for action against Varadarajan,’’ said a source.

There were murmurs on the sidelines of the meeting on why perceived morality was being given precedence over corruption charges against leaders like Kerala CPM secretary Pinarayi Vijayan. But that was brushed aside, saying the charges of corruption in the SNC-Lavalin case were as much against the party as it was against Vijayan and that the party had to fight them. However, in Varadarajan’s case, the party could in no way be held responsible, the leaders argued. He had brought shame to the party, was the view that prevailed. Varadarajan maintained stoic silence all through the proceedings and when asked to present his version, made a brief emotional speech and sat down. When the decision to remove Varadarajan from all party posts was put to a voice vote, only six of the 70-odd members present voted against it.

Curiously enough, specifics of Varadarajan’s alleged violation of the ‘moral code’ were unclear to even many of those present at the meeting. While some said a woman had complained to the state committee about Varadarajan’s ‘misbehaviour’, others said Varadarajan’s wife Saraswathi had complained to the party leadership about his relationship with the other woman. In either case, there were no criminal complaints or a legal basis to the allegations. It concerned a personal matter.