Jail officials reluctant to remove CPM pictures

KANNUR:  Even  a day after the visit of Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan to the Kannur Central Prison, the jail authorities were non-committal on the removal of the photographs and posters of CPM leaders fixed on jail walls.  Senior officials were not available for comments.Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan himself was dazed as he could see the state of affairs in the prison on Monday. A major portion of block number 8 was  controlled by the prisoners belonging to the CPM.   Adorned with photographs and pictures of CPM leaders, including EMS, AKG, Azheekodan Raghavan and E K  Nayanar, the latest victim of a political murder and the CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, the block provided a different spectacle.  Forgive the prisoners if you are so inclined for hanging the pictures of the communist leaders of yesteryear on the walls. “But where does Pinarayi Vijayan come in?” was the question of a visitor who was with the Home Minister. The Minister too was fumbling for an answer. “Yes, I have seen them. The pictures of the leaders of a particular political party on the walls of a jail block. Which political party? You know it all.”  This was how he reacted to mediapersons’ questions.