Kottayam (Kerala), Nov 25 (IANS ) Veteran CPI-M leader E.P. Jayarajan, presently embroiled in an autobiography controversy, was left relieved on Monday when the publisher admitted that there was no agreement with him on the book.
Crime Branch police recorded the statement of D.C Books supremo Ravi D.C. and he has admitted to the probe team there was no agreement with Jayarajan.
Even though Jayarajan can heave a sigh of relief, it raises the bigger question of how one of the leading publishing houses in the state could announce that they were releasing the book and this aspect is going to be the talking point now.
This controversy began on November 13, as Kerala saw two by-elections, and TV channels aired reports about his autobiography, slated for release by Kerala’s leading publishing house DC Books.
The book titled "Kattan Chayayum Paripvada", was quickly put on hold after the news surfaced about its contents following the controversy. It allegedly highlights Jayarajan’s dissatisfaction with the party’s failure to listen to him. It also criticises the party's choice of candidates for the April Lok Sabha elections and the selection of P. Sarin, a former Congress member, as the Left-backed candidate for the Palakkad Assembly by-election on November 20. Sarin eventually came third in the contest.
Jayarajan refuted the reports, stating multiple times that he is still writing his autobiography and was shocked to hear the news of its release.
He added that there was a conspiracy hatched to put him and his party in a poor light and soon gave a written complaint to the state police chief, seeking a probe.
Jayarajan remained firm on his stand and informed the party state Secretariat of having done no wrong. State Secretary M.V.Govindan came to his defence and gave him a clean chit.
Since being denied a ticket in the 2021 Assembly elections, Jayarajan has been unpredictable, frequently putting his party in challenging positions. On April 26 - the polling date for the Lok Sabha elections in the state, he, after casting his vote, said senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar had met him at the son’s residence in the state capital city and this created a huge furore, which eventually saw his exit as the Convenor of the ruling CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front.