Thiruvananthapuram: The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) state party leadership has denied that it is behind the controversial Last Supper posters that have appeared across the city.
It alleges that the posters were put up by the United Democratic Front (UDF) in its effort to win the crucial Piravom by-poll.
Kadakompalli Surendran, the party's Thiruvananthapuram district secretary, filed a formal complaint and demanded an investigation into the origin of the posters.
The controversial posters have appeared at different locations across the city — along with other cut-outs, posters and pictures in connection with the state conference of the CPM, which begins on Tuesday.
In the poster, US President Barack Obama is shown dining with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, her son and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others — borrowing from Leonardo da Vinci's painting depicting the last supper Jesus Christ shared with his disciples.
Not without facts
Political observers in the state said the CPM's allegations are not without facts.
They accused the media and the UDF, led by the Congress, of trying to use today's conference to highlight the split between Pinarayi Vijayan, party general secretary, and V.S. Achuthanandan, veteran CPM leader and former chief minister.
To derail their efforts, the party displayed a picture of Jesus in an exhibition showcasing pictures of communist leaders and great revolutionaries in history. The exhibition was organised as part of the cultural programmes held in connection with the conference.
Later at a public function, Achuthanandan hailed Jesus as a revolutionary who sacrificed his life in the fight against a corrupt establishment.
In the Piravom assembly constituency, which will hold a by-election probably by April, a section of the Christian community has announced that it will not vote for a UDF candidate.
In the last general election, T.M. Jacob, a UDF candidate, won the seat by a little over 100 votes. The church believes there is little chance of the UDF winning the seat with the church against them.
If this happens, the UDF, which has a wafer-thin majority in the state assembly, is likely to find itself in deep trouble. Observers believe that the UDF will play any card to avoid the collapse of the government.
