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CPI-M hounds German for not donating to EMS fund

D Jose in Trivandrum

A German living in Kerala has run into some serious trouble with the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist.

The German national Dieter Grosskopf, who has been living at Manjappra village near Sultan Battery in the tribal district of Wyanad in north Kerala with his Malayali wife, their three-year-old son and her father for the last 10 years, faced trouble after he refused to donate money to the E M S Namboodiripad Memorial Fund.

Grosskopf made the mistake of frankly stating that he would not contribute any money to political parties when members of the CPI-M and its trade union wing, the Centre for Indian Trade Union approached him for a donation to the EMS fund. They left the place warning him that he would have to face the consequences.

True to their word, they revived an old dispute involving the Grosskopfs and a CITU contractor that was settled a long time ago with mediation from the police. The CITU men challenged Dieter's decision to replace the contractor working on his seven-acre farmhouse though the CITU contractor had abandoned work without notice and disappeared.

A group of CITU men led by one Mohan Kumar and Rajan descended on Grosskopf's farmhouse on January 26 and beat up the new contractor's workers. The Grosskopfs, who tried to intervene, were also attacked.

Soon after, the party activists called for a social boycott of the Grosskopfs, warning traders not to sell goods to the Grosskopfs or face ostracism.

The Grosskopfs have been running from pillar to post for help, having found that the police stood by the culprits.

While registering cases in connection with the attack, the Ambalavayal police also slapped a case on the Grosskopfs. A man who claimed to be from the special branch of the police threatened to cancel Dieter's residence visa without giving any reason.

A team from the circle inspector's office went to their farmhouse later and pressed them to sign some papers related to the settled labour dispute. The party left when Deiter's wife, Anitha Grosskopf, insisted on signing it only before their lawyer.

The district authorities have nor responded to the Grosskopfs' pleas for protection.

The Grosskopfs had bought seven acres of land in the picturesque village and set up a farmhouse that included many rare medicinal plants, herbs and orchids. At one time environmental bodies too objected to the family, claiming they were smuggling out herbs and medicinal plants to foreign countries. One organisation launched a campaign against Grosskopf, asserting he was "stealing" several plant species from forests in connivance with the forest officials.

They alleged that Grosskopf had free access to several reserve forests in the state due to his connections in high places.

But the attack by CPI-M workers has drawn some sympathy. A Bharatiya Janata Party leader has sent a message to the prime minister and the National Human Rights Commission, asking that they intercede on Grosskopf's behalf. BJP General Secretary P S Sreedharan Pillai said the incident in Wyanad was a shame on India and its democratic set-up.

Grosskopf has written letters to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the German embassy in New Delhi and the Congress chief whip in Lok Sabha, P J Kurien, who is a relative of his wife, seeking their intervention.

Party and trade union leaders in Trivandrum, however, deny any knowledge about the incidents in Wynad. CPI-M and CITU leaders said they would inquire into the matter and do the needful.

The CPI-M's recent fund collection drive has raked up some controversy with objections being raised to the coercive tactics adopted by party activists. Allegations have also been made that corruption was involved in the mobilisation of funds.

The construction of a state-of-the-art auditorium at the AKG centre, the CPI-M state headquarters, recently has given room for several complaints. Kerala Opposition leader A K Antony has demanded an independent inquiry into the construction of the Rs 45-million auditorium.

He asked how the CPI-M could have so much money when the state was facing one of its worst economic crises ever, and alleged that its coffers seemed to fill up only when the party was in power.

Others claim the party has been taking advantage of EMS's death in a way that the departed leader would not have approved of if he were alive.

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