BRP Bhaskar
Gulf Today
As the Left Democratic Front, traditionally the front-runner in local elections in Kerala, enters the arena weakened by the departure of several allies, hope runs high in the rival United Democratic Front.
Most LDF deserters have found refuge in the UDF. Now it has to cope with the problem of finding seats for the newcomers.
The UDF was in a bad shape at the time of the last elections in 2005. The Congress had been weakened by the exit of former Chief Minister K Karunakaran and his son and former State Congress President K Muraleedharan. The LDF’s prospects improved as the Communist Party of India-Marxist having struck a deal with Karunakaran’s Democratic Indira Congress.
Factionalism in the Congress is under check. Karunakaran is back in the party. Muraleedharan has not been readmitted but he has publicly pledged support to the UDF.
MP Veerendrakumar’s Janata Dal, which has been rechristened Socialist Janata, is now a constituent of the UDF. The Congress has appealed to all allies to part with some seats for it. The appeal has not invoked any response.
With the merger of the Kerala Congress faction led by PJ Joseph, which was with the LDF for two decades, the Kerala Congress (Mani) has become the second largest UDF constituent, pushing the Indian Union Muslim League to third place. It has made known that it expects a larger share than in the last elections by virtue of its growth. The Congress party has asked it to accommodate the Joseph group in its quota.
The Janadhipathya Samrakshana Samithi of KR Gowri Amma and the Communist Marxist Party of MV Raghavan are also seeking more seats than last time. Gowri Amma recently hinted that she would explore alternatives if her party’s claims are ignored.
While the JSS remains in the UDF, Gowri Amma has been staying away from its meetings in protest against the Congress party’s failure to act against its members who had worked against her and her party colleagues in the last Assembly elections.
Gowri Amma and Raghavan floated their parties after being expelled from the CPI-M. Some CPI-M leaders, including Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan, have resumed personal contacts with Gowri Amma in the recent past. The CPI has said its doors are open to her.
There is little chance of Gowri Amma returning to the CPI-M or the CPI, or the JSS becoming a constituent of the LDF. However, the possibility of a tactical alliance between the CPI-M and the JSS cannot be ruled out. The CPI-M has entered into such alliances with UDF partners in the past.
The Indian National League, a breakaway group of the Indian Union Muslim League, which worked closely with the LDF for many years, has moved over to the UDF camp. The Congress has already decided on an electoral understanding with it.
The delimitation of constituencies has resulted in an increase in the number of wards in various local bodies. However, this is not enough to satisfy the demands of all allies.
The UDF has said it will begin talks on seat allocation for the elections to the local self-government institutions on September 1.
Last week Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy and State Congress President Ramesh Chennithala did some tough talk apparently to set the tone for the negotiations which will be held at lower levels. The party also fielded two other leaders, former Speaker Vakkom Purushothaman and PT Thomas, MP, to counter the demands of the JSS and the Kerala Congress (M) respectively.
In theory, the two fronts divide the seats in proportion to the strength of the constituent parties. But who knows for certain the strength of the parties?
The LDF had won its big majority in the State Assembly in 2006 with only 48.63 per cent of the votes polled. The UDF did not get even half as many seats as the LDF but it had secured 42.98 per cent of the votes. A swing of the pendulum enabled the UDF to bag 16 of the state’s 20 Lok Sabha seats last year.
The CPI-M’s share of the votes polled in the Assembly elections was 30.45 per cent and the Congress party’s 24.09 per cent. These figures indicate that the parties which lead the two fronts together command only about 55 per cent of the votes. Both stand in desperate need of allies to win elections.
Showing posts with label CPI-M. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CPI-M. Show all posts
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Of the party, by the party, for the party
BRP Bhaskar
Gulf Today
Forget Abraham Lincoln’s definition of democracy. Kerala has rewritten it to read ‘government of the front, by the front, for the front.’ Since Left Democratic Front constituents other than the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) are midgets, under LDF rule democracy gets reduced to ‘government of the party, by the party, for the party.’
Last week, George Mercier, a member of the opposition United Democratic Front, asked in the State Assembly how many cases of attacks on women had been registered and how many women had been killed since the present government took office.
Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan replied that police had registered 33,148 cases of attacks on women and 243 women had been killed during the past four years.
There is nothing to suggest that attacks on women have increased under LDF rule. Since the question was about cases reported after the LDF came to power, there was no occasion for the minister to provide comparable figures of the UDF period.
In limiting the inquiry to the period of LDF rule Mercier was following a pattern set by others before him. Members often use the question hour to ferret out material which may show the other side in a bad light.
How much has been spent by ministers of this government on entertainment, on telephone calls, on air travel? Such questions come up regularly in the Assembly.
The information the government provides may not be enough to decide whether the spending was justified but it will be enough to plant a suspicion in people’s minds that ministers are spendthrifts.
The change of government in 2006 may not have led to a growth in the crime rate or rise in ministerial extravagance, but there is reason to believe the tendency to misuse authority is increasing. Since many officials are aligned with the CPI-M through service organisations, it is easy for the party to help those whom it favours.
One of the earliest scandals of the present government relates to irregularities in the appointment of assistants in Kerala University. The Upa-Lokayuta, who inquired into the matter, concluded that there had been political interference. The beneficiaries were members of the CPI-M’s youth and student affiliates. The issue is now before the high court.
During the Upa-Lokayukta’s inquiry it came to light that the answer papers of 40,000-odd candidates who took the examination held for filling the post had disappeared. The external agency which evaluated the papers said it had returned them to the university but the university denied having received them. The university bodies are packed with nominees of political parties who are ready to do their bidding.
While revising the voters list of the Kannur constituency before the by-election to the Assembly last year, 9,357 new names were added. Many new voters were shown as staying in buildings under the CPI-M’s control. The Congress alleged that the party had fudged the list with the help of officials.
The Election Commission directed the district authorities to register a case and investigate. While they complied with the directive, the chances of effective prosecution of the guilty officials are thin.
Punishing deserters is as much a part of the scheme as rewarding the faithful. After the Janata Dal quit the LDF and joined the UDF, its president, MP Veerendrakumar, and his son, MV Shreyamskumar, MLA, have come under attack as land grabbers.
The CPI-M Wayanad district secretary CK Saseendran led a group of tribal people under the banner of the Adivasi Kshema Samithi and occupied an estate belonging to Shreyamskumar. The court ordered that they be removed. In a stage-managed show, the police evicted the squatters only to return after the cops left.
High court judges who watched a video of the eviction drama noted that legislators had tried to obstruct the police and asked the Advocate General to advise those concerned to respect the law.
The CPI-M justifies the encroachment on Shreyamskumar’s property saying he is in illegal possession of land that belongs to the Adivasis. The land was in his possession all through the two decades during which the Janata Dal was an LDF constituent. The party or its governments did nothing to reclaim it for the Adivasis during that period.
The most worrying aspect of political infiltration of the service is the reported formation of CPI-M fractions in the police. It was in the 1990s that the presence of party members in the police first came to light. Recently the media reported that policemen had been called to party offices in some places for meetings. – Gulf Today, Sharjah, July 19, 2010.
Gulf Today
Forget Abraham Lincoln’s definition of democracy. Kerala has rewritten it to read ‘government of the front, by the front, for the front.’ Since Left Democratic Front constituents other than the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) are midgets, under LDF rule democracy gets reduced to ‘government of the party, by the party, for the party.’
Last week, George Mercier, a member of the opposition United Democratic Front, asked in the State Assembly how many cases of attacks on women had been registered and how many women had been killed since the present government took office.
Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan replied that police had registered 33,148 cases of attacks on women and 243 women had been killed during the past four years.
There is nothing to suggest that attacks on women have increased under LDF rule. Since the question was about cases reported after the LDF came to power, there was no occasion for the minister to provide comparable figures of the UDF period.
In limiting the inquiry to the period of LDF rule Mercier was following a pattern set by others before him. Members often use the question hour to ferret out material which may show the other side in a bad light.
How much has been spent by ministers of this government on entertainment, on telephone calls, on air travel? Such questions come up regularly in the Assembly.
The information the government provides may not be enough to decide whether the spending was justified but it will be enough to plant a suspicion in people’s minds that ministers are spendthrifts.
The change of government in 2006 may not have led to a growth in the crime rate or rise in ministerial extravagance, but there is reason to believe the tendency to misuse authority is increasing. Since many officials are aligned with the CPI-M through service organisations, it is easy for the party to help those whom it favours.
One of the earliest scandals of the present government relates to irregularities in the appointment of assistants in Kerala University. The Upa-Lokayuta, who inquired into the matter, concluded that there had been political interference. The beneficiaries were members of the CPI-M’s youth and student affiliates. The issue is now before the high court.
During the Upa-Lokayukta’s inquiry it came to light that the answer papers of 40,000-odd candidates who took the examination held for filling the post had disappeared. The external agency which evaluated the papers said it had returned them to the university but the university denied having received them. The university bodies are packed with nominees of political parties who are ready to do their bidding.
While revising the voters list of the Kannur constituency before the by-election to the Assembly last year, 9,357 new names were added. Many new voters were shown as staying in buildings under the CPI-M’s control. The Congress alleged that the party had fudged the list with the help of officials.
The Election Commission directed the district authorities to register a case and investigate. While they complied with the directive, the chances of effective prosecution of the guilty officials are thin.
Punishing deserters is as much a part of the scheme as rewarding the faithful. After the Janata Dal quit the LDF and joined the UDF, its president, MP Veerendrakumar, and his son, MV Shreyamskumar, MLA, have come under attack as land grabbers.
The CPI-M Wayanad district secretary CK Saseendran led a group of tribal people under the banner of the Adivasi Kshema Samithi and occupied an estate belonging to Shreyamskumar. The court ordered that they be removed. In a stage-managed show, the police evicted the squatters only to return after the cops left.
High court judges who watched a video of the eviction drama noted that legislators had tried to obstruct the police and asked the Advocate General to advise those concerned to respect the law.
The CPI-M justifies the encroachment on Shreyamskumar’s property saying he is in illegal possession of land that belongs to the Adivasis. The land was in his possession all through the two decades during which the Janata Dal was an LDF constituent. The party or its governments did nothing to reclaim it for the Adivasis during that period.
The most worrying aspect of political infiltration of the service is the reported formation of CPI-M fractions in the police. It was in the 1990s that the presence of party members in the police first came to light. Recently the media reported that policemen had been called to party offices in some places for meetings. – Gulf Today, Sharjah, July 19, 2010.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Ruling party’s tirade against judges
BRP Bhaskar
Gulf Today
The Communist Party of India-Marxist, which heads Kerala’s ruling coalition, has launched an orchestrated campaign against high court judges, prompting Chief Justice J Chelameswar to observe that “attacking judges personally does not augur well for democracy.”
What drew the party’s ire was the court’s June 23 judgement directing the state government not to grant permission to hold meetings on public roads and road margins. It also asked that if any meeting was held the police must remove all installations and people and prevent it.
A division bench comprising Justice CN Ramachandran Nair and Justice PS Gopinathan had passed the orders on a petition by a resident of Aluva challenging the authorities’ action in permitting a public meeting on the road in front of the local railway station. The Executive Engineer, Public Works Department, Roads, and the Superintendent of Police, Ernakulam Rural district, were cited as respondents.
The judges who perused a set of photographs presented by the petitioner were convinced that the meeting had blocked traffic on the busy road and that such meetings resulted in suffering for the travelling public.
Even though the petitioner drew the court’s attention only to the instance of a road in Aluva, the judges decided to extend the benefit of the decision to road users all over the state. They did not visualise any objection to such extension from any corner, including government agencies, “because the act sought to be prevented is illegal.”
It soon became evident that the assumption that there would be no objection was not correct. All national parties, including the Congress, the CPI-M and the Bharatiya Janata Party criticised the ban on roadside meetings, which have been a feature of public life since the days of the freedom struggle. They dubbed it as a denial of the constitutionally guaranteed rights of association and assembly.
The charge of denial of rights is far-fetched as the court has not imposed a blanket ban on meetings. It only wants to prevent meetings hindering traffic. “In our view,” the judges said, “all meetings should be permitted only in stadiums, public grounds outside road margins and grounds of educational institutions on holidays.”
Three days after the court order, addressing a roadside meeting held on a thoroughfare to protest against the Centre’s decision to hike fuel prices, CPI-M state committee member MV Jayarajan, a close lieutenant of party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, reviled the judges who had delivered the judgement.
After seeing television and newspaper reports of the speech, a lawyer approached the high court with a plea to initiate contempt proceedings against Jayarajan. A bench headed by Chief Justice decided to hear the Advocate General on the issue.
Meanwhile party central committee member EP Jayarajan carried the campaign against the judges further with an equally vituperative speech in which he declared no one could take action against MV Jayarajan.
Pinarayi Vijayan and Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan also joined the campaign but they spoke with a certain degree of restraint. Vijayan said they were only criticising a wrong judgement, not attacking judges. Achuthanandan pointed out that the court had a duty to hear the state’s views before pronouncing a judgement of this kind.
But the vile campaign continued at another level. The Democratic Youth Federation of India and the Students Federation of India organised protest marches to courts at different places in the state and their leaders made virulent attacks on judges. “If necessary we will hold meetings outside judges’ houses,” said a young hothead.
MV Jayarajan’s speech could have been dismissed as the work of a rabble-rouser but for the calibrated performances that followed. The DYFI and SFI are CPI-M affiliates. In the party’s politburo and state committee there are members charged with the task of overseeing the activities of these organisations.
This is not the first time that the CPI-M has come out against court judgements adverse to its interests or those of the government that it heads. However, the current campaign marks a new low in its public conduct. There was no vicious campaign of this kind even when the late EMS Namboodiripad, the tallest party leader of the time, was found guilty of contempt of court in the 1960s for a speech in which he alluded to the class character of judges. – Gulf Today, Sharjah, July 5, 2010
Gulf Today
The Communist Party of India-Marxist, which heads Kerala’s ruling coalition, has launched an orchestrated campaign against high court judges, prompting Chief Justice J Chelameswar to observe that “attacking judges personally does not augur well for democracy.”
What drew the party’s ire was the court’s June 23 judgement directing the state government not to grant permission to hold meetings on public roads and road margins. It also asked that if any meeting was held the police must remove all installations and people and prevent it.
A division bench comprising Justice CN Ramachandran Nair and Justice PS Gopinathan had passed the orders on a petition by a resident of Aluva challenging the authorities’ action in permitting a public meeting on the road in front of the local railway station. The Executive Engineer, Public Works Department, Roads, and the Superintendent of Police, Ernakulam Rural district, were cited as respondents.
The judges who perused a set of photographs presented by the petitioner were convinced that the meeting had blocked traffic on the busy road and that such meetings resulted in suffering for the travelling public.
Even though the petitioner drew the court’s attention only to the instance of a road in Aluva, the judges decided to extend the benefit of the decision to road users all over the state. They did not visualise any objection to such extension from any corner, including government agencies, “because the act sought to be prevented is illegal.”
It soon became evident that the assumption that there would be no objection was not correct. All national parties, including the Congress, the CPI-M and the Bharatiya Janata Party criticised the ban on roadside meetings, which have been a feature of public life since the days of the freedom struggle. They dubbed it as a denial of the constitutionally guaranteed rights of association and assembly.
The charge of denial of rights is far-fetched as the court has not imposed a blanket ban on meetings. It only wants to prevent meetings hindering traffic. “In our view,” the judges said, “all meetings should be permitted only in stadiums, public grounds outside road margins and grounds of educational institutions on holidays.”
Three days after the court order, addressing a roadside meeting held on a thoroughfare to protest against the Centre’s decision to hike fuel prices, CPI-M state committee member MV Jayarajan, a close lieutenant of party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, reviled the judges who had delivered the judgement.
After seeing television and newspaper reports of the speech, a lawyer approached the high court with a plea to initiate contempt proceedings against Jayarajan. A bench headed by Chief Justice decided to hear the Advocate General on the issue.
Meanwhile party central committee member EP Jayarajan carried the campaign against the judges further with an equally vituperative speech in which he declared no one could take action against MV Jayarajan.
Pinarayi Vijayan and Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan also joined the campaign but they spoke with a certain degree of restraint. Vijayan said they were only criticising a wrong judgement, not attacking judges. Achuthanandan pointed out that the court had a duty to hear the state’s views before pronouncing a judgement of this kind.
But the vile campaign continued at another level. The Democratic Youth Federation of India and the Students Federation of India organised protest marches to courts at different places in the state and their leaders made virulent attacks on judges. “If necessary we will hold meetings outside judges’ houses,” said a young hothead.
MV Jayarajan’s speech could have been dismissed as the work of a rabble-rouser but for the calibrated performances that followed. The DYFI and SFI are CPI-M affiliates. In the party’s politburo and state committee there are members charged with the task of overseeing the activities of these organisations.
This is not the first time that the CPI-M has come out against court judgements adverse to its interests or those of the government that it heads. However, the current campaign marks a new low in its public conduct. There was no vicious campaign of this kind even when the late EMS Namboodiripad, the tallest party leader of the time, was found guilty of contempt of court in the 1960s for a speech in which he alluded to the class character of judges. – Gulf Today, Sharjah, July 5, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
LDF regime enters the last lap
BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today
Kerala's Left Democratic Front government, which took office in 2006 amid infighting in the Communist Party of India-Marxist, enters the last year of its five-term term tomorrow (Tuesday), still hamstrung by lingering sectarianism.
Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan, who was subdued after his demotion from the Politburo as a disciplinary measure, has lately shown readiness to lock horns again with state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan who demonstrated his total control over the party machinery at the state conference in 2008.
Last week, the party leadership asserted its authority and reiterated its choice of state committee member CP Narayanan as the chief minister's political secretary, brushing aside Achuthanandan's objections. It also disapproved of his intervention to foil Industry Minister Elamaram Kareem's plan to speed up work on a four-lane road to an industrial estate at Kinaloor, which has met with popular opposition.
The government had its finest hour on the eve of its first anniversary when it concluded a deal with Tecom of Dubai to set up the Smart City project at Kochi. The chief minister's personal standing was also high at that time, thanks to the campaign he had initiated to reclaim lands grabbed by encroachers enjoying political patronage in and around the hill station of Munnar.
On the eve of the fourth anniversary, the government's image is dull. Not a brick has been laid at the Smart City site. With Tecom and the state government locked in a dispute over land title, the project is on hold. The Munnar operation was scuttled by local leaders of the CPI-M and the CPI.
The uneasy relationship between the chief minister and the party secretary limits the government's ability to refurbish its image in the last lap.
Last year's Lok Sabha poll revealed erosion of the ground support which had enabled the CPI-M and the LDF to register spectacular victories in the previous parliamentary, local bodies and Assembly elections. It is now preparing for the local bodies elections, due later this year, which will provide the next big test.
Outwardly the party has been projecting a picture of satisfaction at the government's performance. It attributed the electoral reverse to failure to convey to the people the state government's achievements, which included expansion of welfare measures and turning of loss-making public sector units into profitable undertakings.
According to the Restructuring and Internal Audit Board, the PSUs, which had incurred an aggregate loss of Rs696 million in 2005-06, yielded a profit of Rs2.32 billion in 2009-10. The turnaround was achieved by pumping in more than Rs2 billion and tying up some units with Central PSUs.
In view of the high level of unemployment in the state, one yardstick with which to measure its performance is its record on the job front. There was only a modest increase of 30,000 in the strength of the state's work force in the organised sector in the first two years -- from 1.10 million in 2006 to 1.13 million in 2008, the last year for which figures are available. The number of registered jobseekers went up from 4.0 million in 2006 to 4.5 million in June last year.
Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac claims collection of commercial taxes has increased and the state's finances are in robust condition. He has secured financial stability by pushing up the debt burden from Rs459 billion in 2005-06 to an estimated 672 billion last year.
There are reports that Pinarayi Vijayan has voiced dissatisfaction at the performance of the government and some CPI-M ministers in a document prepared for discussion in party forums.
The government's lacklustre record must be viewed against the background of the dismal performance if all governments of the last three decades, during which the LDF and the rival United Democratic Front have alternated in power.
Essentially the Achuthanandan government's problem is one of poor image rather than poor performance. Its bid to give the police a people-friendly image has collapsed with a dozen police personnel facing murder charge in connection with a custodial death. There are allegations that it is shielding senior officers involved in this and other cases. Last week, policemen, ostensibly provoked by demonstrators, had gone on a rampage in Kinaloor.
On the education front, the government has bought peace by surrendering to the powerful private sector, dominated by the Christian Church, and on the administration of Hindu religious institutions it is seeking peace by giving in to the demands of the powerful Nair Service Society. -- Gulf Today, Sharjah, May 17, 2010.
Gulf Today
Kerala's Left Democratic Front government, which took office in 2006 amid infighting in the Communist Party of India-Marxist, enters the last year of its five-term term tomorrow (Tuesday), still hamstrung by lingering sectarianism.
Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan, who was subdued after his demotion from the Politburo as a disciplinary measure, has lately shown readiness to lock horns again with state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan who demonstrated his total control over the party machinery at the state conference in 2008.
Last week, the party leadership asserted its authority and reiterated its choice of state committee member CP Narayanan as the chief minister's political secretary, brushing aside Achuthanandan's objections. It also disapproved of his intervention to foil Industry Minister Elamaram Kareem's plan to speed up work on a four-lane road to an industrial estate at Kinaloor, which has met with popular opposition.
The government had its finest hour on the eve of its first anniversary when it concluded a deal with Tecom of Dubai to set up the Smart City project at Kochi. The chief minister's personal standing was also high at that time, thanks to the campaign he had initiated to reclaim lands grabbed by encroachers enjoying political patronage in and around the hill station of Munnar.
On the eve of the fourth anniversary, the government's image is dull. Not a brick has been laid at the Smart City site. With Tecom and the state government locked in a dispute over land title, the project is on hold. The Munnar operation was scuttled by local leaders of the CPI-M and the CPI.
The uneasy relationship between the chief minister and the party secretary limits the government's ability to refurbish its image in the last lap.
Last year's Lok Sabha poll revealed erosion of the ground support which had enabled the CPI-M and the LDF to register spectacular victories in the previous parliamentary, local bodies and Assembly elections. It is now preparing for the local bodies elections, due later this year, which will provide the next big test.
Outwardly the party has been projecting a picture of satisfaction at the government's performance. It attributed the electoral reverse to failure to convey to the people the state government's achievements, which included expansion of welfare measures and turning of loss-making public sector units into profitable undertakings.
According to the Restructuring and Internal Audit Board, the PSUs, which had incurred an aggregate loss of Rs696 million in 2005-06, yielded a profit of Rs2.32 billion in 2009-10. The turnaround was achieved by pumping in more than Rs2 billion and tying up some units with Central PSUs.
In view of the high level of unemployment in the state, one yardstick with which to measure its performance is its record on the job front. There was only a modest increase of 30,000 in the strength of the state's work force in the organised sector in the first two years -- from 1.10 million in 2006 to 1.13 million in 2008, the last year for which figures are available. The number of registered jobseekers went up from 4.0 million in 2006 to 4.5 million in June last year.
Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac claims collection of commercial taxes has increased and the state's finances are in robust condition. He has secured financial stability by pushing up the debt burden from Rs459 billion in 2005-06 to an estimated 672 billion last year.
There are reports that Pinarayi Vijayan has voiced dissatisfaction at the performance of the government and some CPI-M ministers in a document prepared for discussion in party forums.
The government's lacklustre record must be viewed against the background of the dismal performance if all governments of the last three decades, during which the LDF and the rival United Democratic Front have alternated in power.
Essentially the Achuthanandan government's problem is one of poor image rather than poor performance. Its bid to give the police a people-friendly image has collapsed with a dozen police personnel facing murder charge in connection with a custodial death. There are allegations that it is shielding senior officers involved in this and other cases. Last week, policemen, ostensibly provoked by demonstrators, had gone on a rampage in Kinaloor.
On the education front, the government has bought peace by surrendering to the powerful private sector, dominated by the Christian Church, and on the administration of Hindu religious institutions it is seeking peace by giving in to the demands of the powerful Nair Service Society. -- Gulf Today, Sharjah, May 17, 2010.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Absurd play is dragging on
BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today
Two months after the Kerala high court ordered steps to remove all encroachments at Munnar in Idukki district the state government has taken no meaningful action in pursuance of the court order.
Munnar used to be a quiet place until three decades ago when real estate interests invaded the area, grabbed land with the help of politicians and started building holiday resorts. Apparently corrupt officials helped them to create titles for the property.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which heads the ruling Left Democratic Front, and the CPI, the second largest constituent of the alliance, are also said to have interest in resorts.
Eviction of encroachers was one of the first steps initiated by VS Achuthanandan, who had become the Chief Minister outmanoeuvring CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan in 2006. He sent a team of three officials who enjoyed his confidence to perform the task.
The team, which started demolishing unauthorised structures with bulldozers under the eyes of television cameras, encountered opposition from two sides. Some affected resort owners rushed to the court and obtained stay orders. The CPI-M's Idukki unit, led by a follower of Achuthanandan, switched its loyalty to Pinarayi Vijayan, and raised stiff opposition to the move locally. The CPI unit also joined the campaign.
The chief minister, who was isolated in the party and the Cabinet, had to pull out his men from Munnar. The government formally reiterated its commitment to oust the encroachers and deputed another team to continue the mission. But, for all practical purposes, the mission was dead.
Munnar came to the fore again as One Earth One Life, a non-government organisation, sought the high court's intervention, stating encroachments and land transactions were continuing there unabated.
It pointed out that Nivedita P Haran, Principal Secretary, Revenue department, had proposed a moratorium on land transactions and constructions in the Pallivasal, Devikulam and Udumbanchola taluks until all doubts about bogus titles were cleared. The government had not acted on her recommendation.
At the hearing stage itself, Chief Justice SR Bannurmath and Justice Thottathil B Radhakrishnan made it clear that they believed stern action was needed to remove the encroachments. They said they would look into the steps taken by the government since 2007.
Justice Bannurmath, who has since retired, stated later that during a visit to Munnar to attend a seminar he had the opportunity to acquaint himself personally with the situation there.
In a 470-page action taken report, filed in response to the court's directive, District Collector Ashok Kumar Singh said the Kannan Devan company belonging to the Tata group was the biggest encraoacher and it held thousands of acres of government land. Action initiated to repossess the land had been halted by stay orders issued by the courts.
He claimed action had been taken against 119 resorts and 14,000 acres recovered from encroachers between 2007 and 2010. The nature of the action taken against illegally constructed resorts was not clear.
The Collector's report mentioned encroachments made by some politicians or their relatives too. His attempt to project the Tatas as the biggest villain is in tune with the tactical line adopted by the ruling parties.
The court's response to the Collector's action taken report will be known when it takes up the case again in the next few days.
When Forest Minister Binoy Viswam announced the government's decision to declare 17,000 acres of land taken back from the Tata firm under a law enacted in the 1970s, the Collector had shot off a letter raising doubts about the status of the land.
In reply, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests TM Manoharan wrote to him saying his letter was based on lack of appreciation of the history of the Kannan Devan hills. He devoted much of his letter to narrate how the land had changed hands since the 19th century.
Meanwhile T Damu, director of a Tata firm, has come out with a book titled Munnar Rekhakal, which essentially presents the company's side of the story.
While the absurd drama involving the government departments and the ruling parties goes on with no end in sight, there are indications that other actors will soon enter the picture.
A technical committee deputed by Union Forest and Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh is due to visit Munnar shortly. The empowered committee appointed by the Supreme Court to look into environmental issues is also expected to take up the case of Munnar soon.-- Gulf Today, Sharjah, March 22, 2010.
Gulf Today
Two months after the Kerala high court ordered steps to remove all encroachments at Munnar in Idukki district the state government has taken no meaningful action in pursuance of the court order.
Munnar used to be a quiet place until three decades ago when real estate interests invaded the area, grabbed land with the help of politicians and started building holiday resorts. Apparently corrupt officials helped them to create titles for the property.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which heads the ruling Left Democratic Front, and the CPI, the second largest constituent of the alliance, are also said to have interest in resorts.
Eviction of encroachers was one of the first steps initiated by VS Achuthanandan, who had become the Chief Minister outmanoeuvring CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan in 2006. He sent a team of three officials who enjoyed his confidence to perform the task.
The team, which started demolishing unauthorised structures with bulldozers under the eyes of television cameras, encountered opposition from two sides. Some affected resort owners rushed to the court and obtained stay orders. The CPI-M's Idukki unit, led by a follower of Achuthanandan, switched its loyalty to Pinarayi Vijayan, and raised stiff opposition to the move locally. The CPI unit also joined the campaign.
The chief minister, who was isolated in the party and the Cabinet, had to pull out his men from Munnar. The government formally reiterated its commitment to oust the encroachers and deputed another team to continue the mission. But, for all practical purposes, the mission was dead.
Munnar came to the fore again as One Earth One Life, a non-government organisation, sought the high court's intervention, stating encroachments and land transactions were continuing there unabated.
It pointed out that Nivedita P Haran, Principal Secretary, Revenue department, had proposed a moratorium on land transactions and constructions in the Pallivasal, Devikulam and Udumbanchola taluks until all doubts about bogus titles were cleared. The government had not acted on her recommendation.
At the hearing stage itself, Chief Justice SR Bannurmath and Justice Thottathil B Radhakrishnan made it clear that they believed stern action was needed to remove the encroachments. They said they would look into the steps taken by the government since 2007.
Justice Bannurmath, who has since retired, stated later that during a visit to Munnar to attend a seminar he had the opportunity to acquaint himself personally with the situation there.
In a 470-page action taken report, filed in response to the court's directive, District Collector Ashok Kumar Singh said the Kannan Devan company belonging to the Tata group was the biggest encraoacher and it held thousands of acres of government land. Action initiated to repossess the land had been halted by stay orders issued by the courts.
He claimed action had been taken against 119 resorts and 14,000 acres recovered from encroachers between 2007 and 2010. The nature of the action taken against illegally constructed resorts was not clear.
The Collector's report mentioned encroachments made by some politicians or their relatives too. His attempt to project the Tatas as the biggest villain is in tune with the tactical line adopted by the ruling parties.
The court's response to the Collector's action taken report will be known when it takes up the case again in the next few days.
When Forest Minister Binoy Viswam announced the government's decision to declare 17,000 acres of land taken back from the Tata firm under a law enacted in the 1970s, the Collector had shot off a letter raising doubts about the status of the land.
In reply, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests TM Manoharan wrote to him saying his letter was based on lack of appreciation of the history of the Kannan Devan hills. He devoted much of his letter to narrate how the land had changed hands since the 19th century.
Meanwhile T Damu, director of a Tata firm, has come out with a book titled Munnar Rekhakal, which essentially presents the company's side of the story.
While the absurd drama involving the government departments and the ruling parties goes on with no end in sight, there are indications that other actors will soon enter the picture.
A technical committee deputed by Union Forest and Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh is due to visit Munnar shortly. The empowered committee appointed by the Supreme Court to look into environmental issues is also expected to take up the case of Munnar soon.-- Gulf Today, Sharjah, March 22, 2010.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Reversal in direction of political traffic
BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today
For two decades political traffic in Kerala flowed in one direction --- towards the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front. With fair-weather comrades leaving the fold, there is now traffic in the other direction.
TK Hamza was one of the earliest to switch to the LDF from the United Democratic Front. He was president of the Malappuram district Congress committee when he earned the hostility of K Karunakaran, who had total sway over the party at the time.
It was a time of flux in state politics. A Congress faction which was in alliance with the CPI-M had just walked out. The CPI-M persuaded Hamza to contest the 1982 elections as an LDF-backed independent. He defeated Aryadan Mohammed.
When the LDF came to power in 1987 Hamza became a minister. Later he grabbed for the LDF the Lok Sabha seat from Manjeri, over which the Muslim League had a monopoly.
Joining the CPI-M, he rose to the level of state committee member. His website is silent on his Congress days. Obviously he wants to hide his Congress past.
Another UDF member who travelled in the same direction was Lonappan Nambadan. Elected to the Assembly on the Kerala Congress ticket in 1977 and 1980, he turned a rebel and was elected four more times -- as an LDF-supported independent. Like Hamza, he too served a term as minister.
In 2004, the CPI-M put him up for the Lok Sabha from Mukundapuram. He contested this time on the party ticket and won.
In 1997, when there was a by-election to the Lok Sabha from Ernakulam, a Congress stronghold, the CPI-M cast its net wide, reckoning an independent with the right religious affiliation might fare better than a party nominee. The strategy paid off. Sebastian Paul, a journalist turned lawyer, whom it fielded as an LDF independent, won the seat.
He could not retain the seat in the next general election but was able to enter the Assembly through a by-election. In 2004, he successfully contested for the Lok Sabha once again. However, in 2009 the party dumped him.
AP Abdullakutty, who hailed from a family with Congress connections but strayed into Left politics as a student, was serving as a member of the Kannur district panchayat when the CPI-M asked him to contest for the Lok Sabha. He defeated Congress leader Mullapally Ramachandran and was hailed as a ‘wonder boy’. He repeated the performance in 2004.
In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections the CPI-M fielded a young government doctor, KS Manoj, who had been active in a Latin Catholic community organisation, as LDF-backed independent in Alappuzha. He defeated Congress stalwart VM Sudheeran by a small margin.
When KT Jaleel, a leader of the Muslim League’s youth wing, fell out with the party leadership the CPI-M received him with open arms. He defeated League strongman PK Kunhalikutty in the 2006 Assembly election as an LDF independent.
The reverse traffic began with Abdullakutty, who was not given the party ticket to contest last year’s Lok Sabha elections, quitting the CPI-M and joining the Congress. Within days the Congress asked him to contest the Assembly by-election in Kannur and he trounced his former CPI-M mentor MV Jayarajan.
Dr Manoj, who had sought and been given CPI-M membership, contested the Lok Sabha elections again last year. However, he lost to Congress candidate KC Venugopal. Last month he resigned from the party.
The CPI-M had reiterated recently that elected representatives should not observe religious rites. Both Abdullakutty and Manoj cited this as the reason for their defection.
Last week S. Sivaraman, who had been elected to the Lok Sabha once from the Ottapalam reserved constituency, announced his decision to leave the CPI-M. He said party leaders did not practise what they preached.
Apparently all three ex-MPs quit the CPI-M after making sure that the Congress will keep its doors open for them. There are reports that the Congress is looking out for other possible defectors.
Significantly, all three ex-MPs who quit the CPI-M are young men. Within the party hierarchy, none of them could go beyond the area committee stage. Their departure is indicative of growing alienation between the party and the minority communities, whom it had wooed assiduously in recent years, and the Dalits, who have been its ardent supporters since long. --Gulf Today, February 8, 2009
Gulf Today
For two decades political traffic in Kerala flowed in one direction --- towards the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front. With fair-weather comrades leaving the fold, there is now traffic in the other direction.
TK Hamza was one of the earliest to switch to the LDF from the United Democratic Front. He was president of the Malappuram district Congress committee when he earned the hostility of K Karunakaran, who had total sway over the party at the time.
It was a time of flux in state politics. A Congress faction which was in alliance with the CPI-M had just walked out. The CPI-M persuaded Hamza to contest the 1982 elections as an LDF-backed independent. He defeated Aryadan Mohammed.
When the LDF came to power in 1987 Hamza became a minister. Later he grabbed for the LDF the Lok Sabha seat from Manjeri, over which the Muslim League had a monopoly.
Joining the CPI-M, he rose to the level of state committee member. His website is silent on his Congress days. Obviously he wants to hide his Congress past.
Another UDF member who travelled in the same direction was Lonappan Nambadan. Elected to the Assembly on the Kerala Congress ticket in 1977 and 1980, he turned a rebel and was elected four more times -- as an LDF-supported independent. Like Hamza, he too served a term as minister.
In 2004, the CPI-M put him up for the Lok Sabha from Mukundapuram. He contested this time on the party ticket and won.
In 1997, when there was a by-election to the Lok Sabha from Ernakulam, a Congress stronghold, the CPI-M cast its net wide, reckoning an independent with the right religious affiliation might fare better than a party nominee. The strategy paid off. Sebastian Paul, a journalist turned lawyer, whom it fielded as an LDF independent, won the seat.
He could not retain the seat in the next general election but was able to enter the Assembly through a by-election. In 2004, he successfully contested for the Lok Sabha once again. However, in 2009 the party dumped him.
AP Abdullakutty, who hailed from a family with Congress connections but strayed into Left politics as a student, was serving as a member of the Kannur district panchayat when the CPI-M asked him to contest for the Lok Sabha. He defeated Congress leader Mullapally Ramachandran and was hailed as a ‘wonder boy’. He repeated the performance in 2004.
In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections the CPI-M fielded a young government doctor, KS Manoj, who had been active in a Latin Catholic community organisation, as LDF-backed independent in Alappuzha. He defeated Congress stalwart VM Sudheeran by a small margin.
When KT Jaleel, a leader of the Muslim League’s youth wing, fell out with the party leadership the CPI-M received him with open arms. He defeated League strongman PK Kunhalikutty in the 2006 Assembly election as an LDF independent.
The reverse traffic began with Abdullakutty, who was not given the party ticket to contest last year’s Lok Sabha elections, quitting the CPI-M and joining the Congress. Within days the Congress asked him to contest the Assembly by-election in Kannur and he trounced his former CPI-M mentor MV Jayarajan.
Dr Manoj, who had sought and been given CPI-M membership, contested the Lok Sabha elections again last year. However, he lost to Congress candidate KC Venugopal. Last month he resigned from the party.
The CPI-M had reiterated recently that elected representatives should not observe religious rites. Both Abdullakutty and Manoj cited this as the reason for their defection.
Last week S. Sivaraman, who had been elected to the Lok Sabha once from the Ottapalam reserved constituency, announced his decision to leave the CPI-M. He said party leaders did not practise what they preached.
Apparently all three ex-MPs quit the CPI-M after making sure that the Congress will keep its doors open for them. There are reports that the Congress is looking out for other possible defectors.
Significantly, all three ex-MPs who quit the CPI-M are young men. Within the party hierarchy, none of them could go beyond the area committee stage. Their departure is indicative of growing alienation between the party and the minority communities, whom it had wooed assiduously in recent years, and the Dalits, who have been its ardent supporters since long. --Gulf Today, February 8, 2009
Monday, January 25, 2010
Sectarian forces flexing muscles
BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today
With elections to the panchayats and the State Assembly fast approaching, organisations of the Nair and Ezhava communities, which account for the bulk of Kerala's Hindu population, have started making noises.
On Friday, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, the century-old organisation of the backward Ezhava community, held a massive rally at Kochi and proclaimed a charter of demands, which seeks for the community proportional representation in the political, social, industrial and economic spheres.
Three weeks earlier, the Nair Service Society, which is still a few years short of its centenary, had adopted a resolution demanding reservation for the community in admissions to educational institutions and appointments to government service.
The present reservation policy, which was discriminatory and unscientific, had denied the Nair community equality of opportunity and relegated it to backwardness, the resolution said. To overcome the situation, it proposed that reservation in government employment and education, now restricted to the backward communities, be extended to Nairs too.
Both the Yogam and the NSS invoked the principle of social justice in support of their demands. The Constitution of India, as it now stands, allows special provisions like reservation only for "socially and educationally backward classes" of citizens. Among the beneficiaries of reservation are Ezhavas, Muslims and backward sections of Christians.
The Yogam, established in the time of Sree Narayana Guru, was the first of several social organisations whose combined efforts helped modernise Kerala's caste-ridden society. It was followed by the Sadhujana Paripalana Sangham, of Ayyankali, the earliest fighter for Dalit rights.
The Nair community had enjoyed high social status in the feudal period although it was never recognised as part of the three so-called upper castes, comprising Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas. As feudalism was crumbling, a band of young Nairs, led by Mannath Padmanabhan, realised that the community was on the decline. They founded the NSS to better its lot.
This was followed by the formation of the Yogakshema Sabha, which spearheaded the reform movement of the Namboodiri Brahmins.
As organisations working for social reform, they found areas where they could cooperate. Thus, when a satyagraha was on at Vaikom, under the auspices of the Congress, to assert the right of the so-called lower castes to use roads around a temple, Mannath Padmanabhan mobilised Nair support for the agitation.
However, there was a difference in the motivations of the different community organisations. While the victims of the old social order were fighting to secure equal rights, its beneficiaries were essentially seeking ways to retain their supremacy in the emerging new order.
CP Nair, a former chief secretary to the government, in a newspaper article upheld the NSS argument that the community had been relegated to backwardness. He said the land reform measure of the 1970s had dispossessed Nair landowners. With the decline of agriculture, the economic foundations of the community collapsed. Also, it did not benefit to any significant extent from the migration to the Gulf States and to Western countries.
While this assessment is substantially correct, it is not sufficient to warrant the conclusion that the Nairs have become socially and educationally backward. The community's problem is one of economic backwardness. The NSS resolution is part of a campaign to secure an amendment of the Constitution to extend reservation to cover economic backwardness as well.
The NSS's sabre-rattling brought immediate results. Leader of Opposition Oommen Chandy and Pradesh Congress President Ramesh Chennithala rushed to the NSS headquarters at Perunna, near Changanassery, suing for peace.
The NSS leadership was not mollified. It has been annoyed with the Congress since the induction of Shashi Tharoor, whom it has dubbed a 'Delhi Nair,' in the central ministry instead of a Nair MP acceptable to it. It became even more furious when the Congress nominated a Muslim to contest an Assembly seat which was earlier held by a Nair who was in its good books.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) extended support to the NSS resolution. The party has been backing reservation on the basis of economic criteria since the time of the late EMS Namboodiripad.
The NSS publicly expressed appreciation of the CPI-M's response.
The immediate objective of the NSS and the SNDP Yogam is limited. They are flexing muscles to pressure the Congress-led United Democratic Front and the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front into picking candidates acceptable to them from the two communities in the forthcoming elections, especially the Assembly poll due next year.-- Gulf Today, Sharjah, January 25, 2010.
Gulf Today
With elections to the panchayats and the State Assembly fast approaching, organisations of the Nair and Ezhava communities, which account for the bulk of Kerala's Hindu population, have started making noises.
On Friday, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, the century-old organisation of the backward Ezhava community, held a massive rally at Kochi and proclaimed a charter of demands, which seeks for the community proportional representation in the political, social, industrial and economic spheres.
Three weeks earlier, the Nair Service Society, which is still a few years short of its centenary, had adopted a resolution demanding reservation for the community in admissions to educational institutions and appointments to government service.
The present reservation policy, which was discriminatory and unscientific, had denied the Nair community equality of opportunity and relegated it to backwardness, the resolution said. To overcome the situation, it proposed that reservation in government employment and education, now restricted to the backward communities, be extended to Nairs too.
Both the Yogam and the NSS invoked the principle of social justice in support of their demands. The Constitution of India, as it now stands, allows special provisions like reservation only for "socially and educationally backward classes" of citizens. Among the beneficiaries of reservation are Ezhavas, Muslims and backward sections of Christians.
The Yogam, established in the time of Sree Narayana Guru, was the first of several social organisations whose combined efforts helped modernise Kerala's caste-ridden society. It was followed by the Sadhujana Paripalana Sangham, of Ayyankali, the earliest fighter for Dalit rights.
The Nair community had enjoyed high social status in the feudal period although it was never recognised as part of the three so-called upper castes, comprising Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas. As feudalism was crumbling, a band of young Nairs, led by Mannath Padmanabhan, realised that the community was on the decline. They founded the NSS to better its lot.
This was followed by the formation of the Yogakshema Sabha, which spearheaded the reform movement of the Namboodiri Brahmins.
As organisations working for social reform, they found areas where they could cooperate. Thus, when a satyagraha was on at Vaikom, under the auspices of the Congress, to assert the right of the so-called lower castes to use roads around a temple, Mannath Padmanabhan mobilised Nair support for the agitation.
However, there was a difference in the motivations of the different community organisations. While the victims of the old social order were fighting to secure equal rights, its beneficiaries were essentially seeking ways to retain their supremacy in the emerging new order.
CP Nair, a former chief secretary to the government, in a newspaper article upheld the NSS argument that the community had been relegated to backwardness. He said the land reform measure of the 1970s had dispossessed Nair landowners. With the decline of agriculture, the economic foundations of the community collapsed. Also, it did not benefit to any significant extent from the migration to the Gulf States and to Western countries.
While this assessment is substantially correct, it is not sufficient to warrant the conclusion that the Nairs have become socially and educationally backward. The community's problem is one of economic backwardness. The NSS resolution is part of a campaign to secure an amendment of the Constitution to extend reservation to cover economic backwardness as well.
The NSS's sabre-rattling brought immediate results. Leader of Opposition Oommen Chandy and Pradesh Congress President Ramesh Chennithala rushed to the NSS headquarters at Perunna, near Changanassery, suing for peace.
The NSS leadership was not mollified. It has been annoyed with the Congress since the induction of Shashi Tharoor, whom it has dubbed a 'Delhi Nair,' in the central ministry instead of a Nair MP acceptable to it. It became even more furious when the Congress nominated a Muslim to contest an Assembly seat which was earlier held by a Nair who was in its good books.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) extended support to the NSS resolution. The party has been backing reservation on the basis of economic criteria since the time of the late EMS Namboodiripad.
The NSS publicly expressed appreciation of the CPI-M's response.
The immediate objective of the NSS and the SNDP Yogam is limited. They are flexing muscles to pressure the Congress-led United Democratic Front and the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front into picking candidates acceptable to them from the two communities in the forthcoming elections, especially the Assembly poll due next year.-- Gulf Today, Sharjah, January 25, 2010.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Ruling front under the shadow of poll defeats
BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today
The ruling Left Democratic Front's defeat in the three Assembly by-elections in Kerala was not entirely unexpected but the failure of the zealous bid by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) to snatch at least one seat has left the rank and file demoralised.
The by-elections were necessitated by the resignation of three Congress legislators following their election to the Lok Sabha this year.
The CPI-M attached great importance to the by-elections. Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan, who was demoted from the Politburo as a disciplinary measure, was made the chief campaigner to benefit from the popular support which he still enjoys.
Both Achuthanandan and party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan declared that the by-election results would be a verdict on the LDF government. It was an act of political daredevilry, considering that the seats were held by the Congress.
Kannur district is a CPI-M fortress. As the home district of Pinarayi Vijayan and his chief lieutenants it now has greater clout than before. However, Kannur city has been out of its hands since long. The Congress flung a direct challenge to the CPI-M by fielding AP Abdullakutty, whom it had expelled, there.
The CPI-M has backed several Congress defectors in the past but this was the first time an ex-Marxist was fighting an election on the Congress ticket. It deputed MV Jayarajan, a close aide of Pinarayi Vijayan, to take on Abdullakutty.
Determined to snatch Kannur at any cost, the CPI-M enrolled a large number of its supporters from neighbouring areas as voters in that constituency in advance of the by-election. Some of them gave buildings under the party's control as place of residence. Some others used non-existent addresses.
A quick review of the electoral rolls ordered by the Election Commission, at the instance of the Congress, resulted in the removal of a few thousand fake voters.
Taking note of the partisanship of sections of state government employees, the Commission drafted a large number of Central government officials and Central police personnel for election duty in the state.
CPI-M leaders raised a ruckus alleging the Election Commission had sent the army at the behest of the Congress. The chief minister drew loud applause by declaring at public meetings that the state government would confine the troops to the barracks. However, the Commission saw to it that Central police personnel were deployed inside polling stations.
Apparently the CPI-M strategy was to enroll enough new voters in Kannur to neutralise the Congress's winning margin of 8,613 in 2006. But the Congress won the seat by an increased margin of 12,043 votes.
At Ernakulam, the CPI-M candidate, PN Sinulal, was defeated by Dominic Presentation of the Congress by a margin of 8,620 votes. In 2006 the Congress had won by a margin of only 5,800 votes.
The only LDF candidate to buck the trend was G Krishna Prasad of the CPI, who, while losing to AA Shukoor at Alappuzha, reduced the Congress party's winning margin from 16,933 in 2006 to 4,745 this time.
The CPI's performance is noteworthy as it did not have the support of Abdul Naser Mahdani's People's Democratic Party, which had backed the CPI-M at Kannur and Ernakulam.
As soon as the results became known, the CPI-M said it had fared better than in 2006. The claim was based on a small increase in the number of votes polled by its candidates in Kannur and Ernakulam.
It was a ludicrous claim. The small increase has to be seen in the context of the growth of the electorate and the increased polling percentage. Actually the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party had made greater gains than the CPI-M.
Subsequently the party modified the claim slightly. It said the voting figures showed the party still retained the popular support it had when it was swept to power in 2006.
The CPI-M had made inroads in Kannur and Ernakulam in the past by fielding candidates belonging to minority communities. It tried a new tack this time, presumably in the light of the experience of the Lok Sabha elections. But it does not seem to have helped.
Some observers believe the CPI's improved performance in Alappuzha was the result of a pro-LDF swing by the Nair Service Society, which has been critical of the Congress for allegedly neglecting the Nair community's interests.--Gulf Today, November 16, 2009
Gulf Today
The ruling Left Democratic Front's defeat in the three Assembly by-elections in Kerala was not entirely unexpected but the failure of the zealous bid by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) to snatch at least one seat has left the rank and file demoralised.
The by-elections were necessitated by the resignation of three Congress legislators following their election to the Lok Sabha this year.
The CPI-M attached great importance to the by-elections. Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan, who was demoted from the Politburo as a disciplinary measure, was made the chief campaigner to benefit from the popular support which he still enjoys.
Both Achuthanandan and party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan declared that the by-election results would be a verdict on the LDF government. It was an act of political daredevilry, considering that the seats were held by the Congress.
Kannur district is a CPI-M fortress. As the home district of Pinarayi Vijayan and his chief lieutenants it now has greater clout than before. However, Kannur city has been out of its hands since long. The Congress flung a direct challenge to the CPI-M by fielding AP Abdullakutty, whom it had expelled, there.
The CPI-M has backed several Congress defectors in the past but this was the first time an ex-Marxist was fighting an election on the Congress ticket. It deputed MV Jayarajan, a close aide of Pinarayi Vijayan, to take on Abdullakutty.
Determined to snatch Kannur at any cost, the CPI-M enrolled a large number of its supporters from neighbouring areas as voters in that constituency in advance of the by-election. Some of them gave buildings under the party's control as place of residence. Some others used non-existent addresses.
A quick review of the electoral rolls ordered by the Election Commission, at the instance of the Congress, resulted in the removal of a few thousand fake voters.
Taking note of the partisanship of sections of state government employees, the Commission drafted a large number of Central government officials and Central police personnel for election duty in the state.
CPI-M leaders raised a ruckus alleging the Election Commission had sent the army at the behest of the Congress. The chief minister drew loud applause by declaring at public meetings that the state government would confine the troops to the barracks. However, the Commission saw to it that Central police personnel were deployed inside polling stations.
Apparently the CPI-M strategy was to enroll enough new voters in Kannur to neutralise the Congress's winning margin of 8,613 in 2006. But the Congress won the seat by an increased margin of 12,043 votes.
At Ernakulam, the CPI-M candidate, PN Sinulal, was defeated by Dominic Presentation of the Congress by a margin of 8,620 votes. In 2006 the Congress had won by a margin of only 5,800 votes.
The only LDF candidate to buck the trend was G Krishna Prasad of the CPI, who, while losing to AA Shukoor at Alappuzha, reduced the Congress party's winning margin from 16,933 in 2006 to 4,745 this time.
The CPI's performance is noteworthy as it did not have the support of Abdul Naser Mahdani's People's Democratic Party, which had backed the CPI-M at Kannur and Ernakulam.
As soon as the results became known, the CPI-M said it had fared better than in 2006. The claim was based on a small increase in the number of votes polled by its candidates in Kannur and Ernakulam.
It was a ludicrous claim. The small increase has to be seen in the context of the growth of the electorate and the increased polling percentage. Actually the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party had made greater gains than the CPI-M.
Subsequently the party modified the claim slightly. It said the voting figures showed the party still retained the popular support it had when it was swept to power in 2006.
The CPI-M had made inroads in Kannur and Ernakulam in the past by fielding candidates belonging to minority communities. It tried a new tack this time, presumably in the light of the experience of the Lok Sabha elections. But it does not seem to have helped.
Some observers believe the CPI's improved performance in Alappuzha was the result of a pro-LDF swing by the Nair Service Society, which has been critical of the Congress for allegedly neglecting the Nair community's interests.--Gulf Today, November 16, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
CPI-M action to end sectarianism may not succeed
BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today
THE die is cast. The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has finally taken a major step to rid its Kerala unit of the canker of sectarianism which has spread through its vitals. Given the unilateral character of the action, it is unlikely to yield the desired results.
All of Kerala waited with bated breath during the weekend as the 85-member party central committee, called at short notice, deliberated on the course of action proposed by the 15-member politburo, which could not come to an agreed conclusion the previous weekend.
People sat glued before television sets as the news channels organised live discussions on the issue on Saturday and on Sunday on the basis of unsubstantiated reports that emerged from time to time about the course of the deliberations at the party headquarters in New Delhi.
Fax messages supporting one leader or the other flowed into the party office from all over Kerala and from the Gulf states while the meeting was in progress.
The party has been afflicted by sectarianism since long. Matters came to a head at the 2005 conference at Malappuram, where the factions led by state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan (who was leader of the opposition at the time) clashed, ignoring General Secretary Prakash Karat's plea to accept an agreed list of candidates for the state committee.
The hesitant steps the national leadership took during the past five years failed to check sectarianism. The party's disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha elections forced it to acknowledge that the malaise that originated at the top had spread to the lower limbs.
The official assessment was that Achuthanandan's public voicing of opinions different from those of the party on issues like the Lavalin case, in which Pinarayi Vijayan figures as an accused, and the electoral pact with Abdul Naser Mahdani's People's Democratic Party, had contributed to the poll debacle.
It was this perception that prompted the leadership to recommend to the central committee to remove Achuthanandan from the politburo.
Although some members wanted action to be taken against Vijayan also, the committee eventually accepted the recommendation without any change.
The central committee's decision, undoubtedly, is a victory for Vijayan, since the state committee, which is under his control, was seeking action against Achuthanandan for breach of discipline.
But the Vijayan faction's sense of triumph is tinged by disappointment over the national leadership's refusal to concede its demand for Achuthanandan's removal from the post of chief minister. The state committee reportedly made the demand in two resolutions sent to the Politburo.
Demotion from politburo to central committee is a setback that Achuthanandan, who has invited disciplinary action in the past too, can take in his stride. For him, the greater blow is the national leadership's rejection of his contention that there was corruption in the Lavalin deal. It rejected his demand that Pinarayi Vijayan, as an accused in a corruption case, must be told to step down from the post of state secretary.
The politburo gave Pinarayi Vijayan a clean chit. It reiterated the earlier decision that the Lavalin case was politically motivated and that Vijayan was not guilty of corruption.
On earlier occasions the national leadership had taken care to convey the impression that it was holding the scales even between the two faction leaders. This approach was particularly evident when both Achuthanandan and Vijayan were suspended from the politburo for several months for indulging in a public spat.
On a superficial view, the national leadership may appear to maintain parity even now inasmuch as Achuthanandan and Vijayan have been allowed to remain chief minister and party secretary respectively.
However, considering the bureaucratic character of the communist machinery, demotion within the party further limits Achuthanandan's functional autonomy as chief minister, which was already severely circumscribed by the state party.
Since Achuthanandan values his image as a crusader against corruption, built up over the years, and Pinarayi Vijayan is unlikely to lessen the control he exercises over the government through his acolytes in the cabinet, the national leadership's fond hope that the two factions will work together is unlikely to materialise.
The spontaneous demonstrations at a few places and the opinions voiced by people in straw polls conducted by television channels are indicative of a surge in support for Achuthanandan in the wake of the disciplinary action against him.
This does not augur well for the CPI-M which has to face panchayats elections next year and Assembly elections the year after.
Gulf Today
THE die is cast. The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has finally taken a major step to rid its Kerala unit of the canker of sectarianism which has spread through its vitals. Given the unilateral character of the action, it is unlikely to yield the desired results.
All of Kerala waited with bated breath during the weekend as the 85-member party central committee, called at short notice, deliberated on the course of action proposed by the 15-member politburo, which could not come to an agreed conclusion the previous weekend.
People sat glued before television sets as the news channels organised live discussions on the issue on Saturday and on Sunday on the basis of unsubstantiated reports that emerged from time to time about the course of the deliberations at the party headquarters in New Delhi.
Fax messages supporting one leader or the other flowed into the party office from all over Kerala and from the Gulf states while the meeting was in progress.
The party has been afflicted by sectarianism since long. Matters came to a head at the 2005 conference at Malappuram, where the factions led by state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan (who was leader of the opposition at the time) clashed, ignoring General Secretary Prakash Karat's plea to accept an agreed list of candidates for the state committee.
The hesitant steps the national leadership took during the past five years failed to check sectarianism. The party's disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha elections forced it to acknowledge that the malaise that originated at the top had spread to the lower limbs.
The official assessment was that Achuthanandan's public voicing of opinions different from those of the party on issues like the Lavalin case, in which Pinarayi Vijayan figures as an accused, and the electoral pact with Abdul Naser Mahdani's People's Democratic Party, had contributed to the poll debacle.
It was this perception that prompted the leadership to recommend to the central committee to remove Achuthanandan from the politburo.
Although some members wanted action to be taken against Vijayan also, the committee eventually accepted the recommendation without any change.
The central committee's decision, undoubtedly, is a victory for Vijayan, since the state committee, which is under his control, was seeking action against Achuthanandan for breach of discipline.
But the Vijayan faction's sense of triumph is tinged by disappointment over the national leadership's refusal to concede its demand for Achuthanandan's removal from the post of chief minister. The state committee reportedly made the demand in two resolutions sent to the Politburo.
Demotion from politburo to central committee is a setback that Achuthanandan, who has invited disciplinary action in the past too, can take in his stride. For him, the greater blow is the national leadership's rejection of his contention that there was corruption in the Lavalin deal. It rejected his demand that Pinarayi Vijayan, as an accused in a corruption case, must be told to step down from the post of state secretary.
The politburo gave Pinarayi Vijayan a clean chit. It reiterated the earlier decision that the Lavalin case was politically motivated and that Vijayan was not guilty of corruption.
On earlier occasions the national leadership had taken care to convey the impression that it was holding the scales even between the two faction leaders. This approach was particularly evident when both Achuthanandan and Vijayan were suspended from the politburo for several months for indulging in a public spat.
On a superficial view, the national leadership may appear to maintain parity even now inasmuch as Achuthanandan and Vijayan have been allowed to remain chief minister and party secretary respectively.
However, considering the bureaucratic character of the communist machinery, demotion within the party further limits Achuthanandan's functional autonomy as chief minister, which was already severely circumscribed by the state party.
Since Achuthanandan values his image as a crusader against corruption, built up over the years, and Pinarayi Vijayan is unlikely to lessen the control he exercises over the government through his acolytes in the cabinet, the national leadership's fond hope that the two factions will work together is unlikely to materialise.
The spontaneous demonstrations at a few places and the opinions voiced by people in straw polls conducted by television channels are indicative of a surge in support for Achuthanandan in the wake of the disciplinary action against him.
This does not augur well for the CPI-M which has to face panchayats elections next year and Assembly elections the year after.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
CPI-M is damned if it does, damned if it doesn't
B.R.P. BHASKAR
Comment
IANS
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) politburo meets July 5-6 to grapple with the worrying problem of sectarianism in its Kerala unit. Few political observers believe it is in a position to act decisively.
Ranged on either side of the divide are two politburo members - party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, 65, who has the organizational machinery in his grip, and Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, 85, the only living party man from the state who was among the 32 members who walked out of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India in 1964 to found the breakaway party.
Achuthanandan, who was state secretary from 1980 to 1992, played a big role in Vijayan's elevation to that post in 1998. But they quickly parted ways.
Early on, it looked as though Vijayan was trying to modernize the party to bring it in tune with the times and Achuthanandan was trying to hold it back in the Stalinist path. Soon, however, their public images changed.
When the Congress-led United Democratic Front was in power, Achuthanandan, as Leader of the Opposition, travelled to the remotest corners of the state and identified himself with popular causes, earning in the process the image of a man of the masses. Vijayan, who tightened his hold on the party and mobilized resources for the party's media and entertainment enterprises by tapping rich men of dubious background, came to be identified with the wrong kind of change.
The party's national leadership has been seized of the sectarian problem since 2005 when the two sides went in for a showdown, rejecting General Secretary Prakash Karat's plea to approve an agreed list of state committee members. The measures it has taken to put down sectarianism have not yielded results, mainly because it has been treating the symptoms, not the malady.
The state party leadership did not want Achuthanandan to contest the assembly elections but the politburo, responding to public demonstrations of support to him, allowed him to contest and become chief minister. The state party then effectively reined him in by packing the cabinet with Vijayan loyalists. With the politburo's help, it ensured that the chief minister did not keep the sensitive portfolios of home affairs and vigilance.
The national leadership has been at pains to give the impression that it holds the scales even between the feuding leaders. As they indulged in a public spat, it suspended both from the powerful politburo but allowed them to stay in their respective posts. The suspensions were withdrawn after a few months.
As the situation deteriorated, the national leadership adopted a policy of procrastination. There was no action on Achuthanandan's repeated requests for a politburo meeting to discuss state party affairs. Complaints from the two factions levelling charges against each other piled up at the party's headquarters.
After the party's disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha elections the national leadership could no longer look the other way. However, its election review was marked by self-righteousness rather than self-criticism. The Central Committee refused to acknowledge the damage caused by the party's brazen attempt of shield Vijayan from prosecution in the Lavalin case and by the alliance with Abdul Naser Mahdani's People's Democratic Party, which is widely seen as a communal outfit. It attributed the electoral debacle simplistically to the confusion caused in the public mind on these issues by the opposition, hostile media and a section within the party.
The politburo has before it two demands - one from the Vijayan faction seeking Achuthanandan's ouster from the chief minister's post and the other from the Achuthanandan faction for Vijayan's removal from the state secretary's post pending his clearance by the judiciary in the corruption case. Theoretically, it can accept either or both of these demands.
The national leadership is in the unenviable position of being damned if it does and damned if it doesn't. In taking a decision, it has to consider how its action will affect the Kerala party, which is its largest unit. If Achuthanandan is ousted, it will not be able to find a chief minister with comparable popular appeal. If Pinarayi is removed, it will be hard put to find an equally competent successor.
Party documents have revealed that about 10 percent of the full members and close to 25 percent of the candidate members in the state have been dropping out each year. Large-scale desertions, even when the party is in power, suggests deep disillusionment among the rank and file.
Despite a high dropout rate, the party continued to grow until 2006 thanks to the onrush of new entrants. However, in 2007, the last year for which figures are available, there was a net drop in membership. It fell from 341,006 in the previous year to 336,644.
Comment
IANS
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) politburo meets July 5-6 to grapple with the worrying problem of sectarianism in its Kerala unit. Few political observers believe it is in a position to act decisively.
Ranged on either side of the divide are two politburo members - party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, 65, who has the organizational machinery in his grip, and Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, 85, the only living party man from the state who was among the 32 members who walked out of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India in 1964 to found the breakaway party.
Achuthanandan, who was state secretary from 1980 to 1992, played a big role in Vijayan's elevation to that post in 1998. But they quickly parted ways.
Early on, it looked as though Vijayan was trying to modernize the party to bring it in tune with the times and Achuthanandan was trying to hold it back in the Stalinist path. Soon, however, their public images changed.
When the Congress-led United Democratic Front was in power, Achuthanandan, as Leader of the Opposition, travelled to the remotest corners of the state and identified himself with popular causes, earning in the process the image of a man of the masses. Vijayan, who tightened his hold on the party and mobilized resources for the party's media and entertainment enterprises by tapping rich men of dubious background, came to be identified with the wrong kind of change.
The party's national leadership has been seized of the sectarian problem since 2005 when the two sides went in for a showdown, rejecting General Secretary Prakash Karat's plea to approve an agreed list of state committee members. The measures it has taken to put down sectarianism have not yielded results, mainly because it has been treating the symptoms, not the malady.
The state party leadership did not want Achuthanandan to contest the assembly elections but the politburo, responding to public demonstrations of support to him, allowed him to contest and become chief minister. The state party then effectively reined him in by packing the cabinet with Vijayan loyalists. With the politburo's help, it ensured that the chief minister did not keep the sensitive portfolios of home affairs and vigilance.
The national leadership has been at pains to give the impression that it holds the scales even between the feuding leaders. As they indulged in a public spat, it suspended both from the powerful politburo but allowed them to stay in their respective posts. The suspensions were withdrawn after a few months.
As the situation deteriorated, the national leadership adopted a policy of procrastination. There was no action on Achuthanandan's repeated requests for a politburo meeting to discuss state party affairs. Complaints from the two factions levelling charges against each other piled up at the party's headquarters.
After the party's disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha elections the national leadership could no longer look the other way. However, its election review was marked by self-righteousness rather than self-criticism. The Central Committee refused to acknowledge the damage caused by the party's brazen attempt of shield Vijayan from prosecution in the Lavalin case and by the alliance with Abdul Naser Mahdani's People's Democratic Party, which is widely seen as a communal outfit. It attributed the electoral debacle simplistically to the confusion caused in the public mind on these issues by the opposition, hostile media and a section within the party.
The politburo has before it two demands - one from the Vijayan faction seeking Achuthanandan's ouster from the chief minister's post and the other from the Achuthanandan faction for Vijayan's removal from the state secretary's post pending his clearance by the judiciary in the corruption case. Theoretically, it can accept either or both of these demands.
The national leadership is in the unenviable position of being damned if it does and damned if it doesn't. In taking a decision, it has to consider how its action will affect the Kerala party, which is its largest unit. If Achuthanandan is ousted, it will not be able to find a chief minister with comparable popular appeal. If Pinarayi is removed, it will be hard put to find an equally competent successor.
Party documents have revealed that about 10 percent of the full members and close to 25 percent of the candidate members in the state have been dropping out each year. Large-scale desertions, even when the party is in power, suggests deep disillusionment among the rank and file.
Despite a high dropout rate, the party continued to grow until 2006 thanks to the onrush of new entrants. However, in 2007, the last year for which figures are available, there was a net drop in membership. It fell from 341,006 in the previous year to 336,644.
Monday, June 15, 2009
CPI-M sectarian drama set to move to politburo
BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today
THERE were two conspicuous absentees when leaders of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in Kerala assembled at Perinthalmanna for the EMS Namboodiripad birth centenary celebrations, with general secretary Prakash Karat in attendance.
Conceived as an occasion to pay formal tribute to Namboodiripad, the tallest leader of his time, the centenary function assumed special significance as it provided Karat an opportunity to set the tone for the crucial state committee meeting at Thiruvananthapuram and central committee and politburo meetings to follow in New Delhi later in the week.
As it happened, Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan and party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, protagonists in the long-playing sectarian drama in the state party, were not present.
Achuthanandan is the CPI-M's senior most leader in the state -- he is the only survivor among the central committee members who had walked out of the undivided Communist Party of India (CPI) to found the party -- and, arguably, the most popular one too. He was not at Perinthalmanna because the state party leadership did not want him. It had assigned him no task there.
Pinarayi Vijayan is the party's most powerful leader in the state. He had demonstrated his hold over the party machinery in the organisational elections held in advance of last year's party congress.
He was not at Perinthalmanna because he had to rush home, cancelling all public engagements, to attend the funeral of his elder brother. In his absence, Karat performed the tasks assigned to him.
Significantly, Achuthanandan's exclusion from the function came in the wake of strident demands in the party's state secretariat by Vijayan's supporters that the politburo should take action against him for flouting party discipline.
There were reports that ministers loyal to Vijayan had informed the state leadership that they could no longer work with the chief minister. The ministers quickly denied them to obviate possible criticism that the principle of collective responsibility of the council of ministers had been violated.
Achuthanandan's most recent act that angered the state leadership was his refusal to endorse its stand that Governor RS Gavai had acted unconstitutionally in granting permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation to prosecute Vijayan in the Lavalin case.
In an interaction with the media, Achuthanandan not only refused to endorse the party's criticism of the governor but justified his action by pointing out that the Supreme Court has ruled that governors can use discretion in such matters and other state governors, too, have acted in like manner.
The state committee, in a statement, diluted its criticism of the governor's action, apparently to stay within the bounds set by the politburo, which only said it was "unfortunate." It also dropped the oft-repeated declaration that the party would fight the Lavalin case politically. Now that the matter was going to the court, the party would fight it legally, the statement said.
The softer tone signified a tactical move. The party continued with demonstrations against the governor. Addressing one such demonstration, Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener Vaikom Viswan, who is a central committee member, said that anyone who remained impassive on the Lavalin issue was an enemy of the party.
Although no names were mentioned, the attack appeared to be directed against Achuthanandan, who has refused to toe the party line, and the LDF constituents, who have kept away from the public campaign against the governor.
The state committees of the CPI and the Revolutionary Socialist Party, the only other leftist parties in the LDF, while criticising the governor for rejecting the ministry's advice on the prosecution issue, dissociated themselves from the CPI-M stand that the Lavalin case was politically motivated.
The demand for Achuthanandan's removal from chief minister's post is expected to be raised by Vijayan's supporters at the state committee meeting which Karat is due to attend.
The next act of the sectarian drama will be enacted in the politburo, of which both Achuthanandan and Vijayan are members. At its meeting, scheduled for Friday, the majority faction's demand that Achuthanandan must step down as chief minister or be removed is sure to come up. Achuthanandan is expected to demand that Vijayan, who is facing a corruption charge, must step down from the post of party secretary or be removed.
Karat has said the party will move forward, making "corrections" in the government and the organisation in the light of the electoral defeat. The crucial question is whether the party can sacrifice either or both of the feuding leaders.
Gulf Today
THERE were two conspicuous absentees when leaders of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in Kerala assembled at Perinthalmanna for the EMS Namboodiripad birth centenary celebrations, with general secretary Prakash Karat in attendance.
Conceived as an occasion to pay formal tribute to Namboodiripad, the tallest leader of his time, the centenary function assumed special significance as it provided Karat an opportunity to set the tone for the crucial state committee meeting at Thiruvananthapuram and central committee and politburo meetings to follow in New Delhi later in the week.
As it happened, Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan and party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, protagonists in the long-playing sectarian drama in the state party, were not present.
Achuthanandan is the CPI-M's senior most leader in the state -- he is the only survivor among the central committee members who had walked out of the undivided Communist Party of India (CPI) to found the party -- and, arguably, the most popular one too. He was not at Perinthalmanna because the state party leadership did not want him. It had assigned him no task there.
Pinarayi Vijayan is the party's most powerful leader in the state. He had demonstrated his hold over the party machinery in the organisational elections held in advance of last year's party congress.
He was not at Perinthalmanna because he had to rush home, cancelling all public engagements, to attend the funeral of his elder brother. In his absence, Karat performed the tasks assigned to him.
Significantly, Achuthanandan's exclusion from the function came in the wake of strident demands in the party's state secretariat by Vijayan's supporters that the politburo should take action against him for flouting party discipline.
There were reports that ministers loyal to Vijayan had informed the state leadership that they could no longer work with the chief minister. The ministers quickly denied them to obviate possible criticism that the principle of collective responsibility of the council of ministers had been violated.
Achuthanandan's most recent act that angered the state leadership was his refusal to endorse its stand that Governor RS Gavai had acted unconstitutionally in granting permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation to prosecute Vijayan in the Lavalin case.
In an interaction with the media, Achuthanandan not only refused to endorse the party's criticism of the governor but justified his action by pointing out that the Supreme Court has ruled that governors can use discretion in such matters and other state governors, too, have acted in like manner.
The state committee, in a statement, diluted its criticism of the governor's action, apparently to stay within the bounds set by the politburo, which only said it was "unfortunate." It also dropped the oft-repeated declaration that the party would fight the Lavalin case politically. Now that the matter was going to the court, the party would fight it legally, the statement said.
The softer tone signified a tactical move. The party continued with demonstrations against the governor. Addressing one such demonstration, Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener Vaikom Viswan, who is a central committee member, said that anyone who remained impassive on the Lavalin issue was an enemy of the party.
Although no names were mentioned, the attack appeared to be directed against Achuthanandan, who has refused to toe the party line, and the LDF constituents, who have kept away from the public campaign against the governor.
The state committees of the CPI and the Revolutionary Socialist Party, the only other leftist parties in the LDF, while criticising the governor for rejecting the ministry's advice on the prosecution issue, dissociated themselves from the CPI-M stand that the Lavalin case was politically motivated.
The demand for Achuthanandan's removal from chief minister's post is expected to be raised by Vijayan's supporters at the state committee meeting which Karat is due to attend.
The next act of the sectarian drama will be enacted in the politburo, of which both Achuthanandan and Vijayan are members. At its meeting, scheduled for Friday, the majority faction's demand that Achuthanandan must step down as chief minister or be removed is sure to come up. Achuthanandan is expected to demand that Vijayan, who is facing a corruption charge, must step down from the post of party secretary or be removed.
Karat has said the party will move forward, making "corrections" in the government and the organisation in the light of the electoral defeat. The crucial question is whether the party can sacrifice either or both of the feuding leaders.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Poll debacle brings CPI-M infighting to the fore
B.R.P.BHASKAR
Indo Asian News Service
The national leadership of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) will soon be called upon to adjudicate on the sectarianism in the party's Kerala unit, which has been laid bare by the electoral debacle.
The ruling Left Democratic Front led by the CPI-M, which held 19 of the state's 20 seats in the last Lok Sabha, has only four members in the new house. The CPI-M can derive comfort from the fact that all four are its nominees.
In an attempt to maximise the front's tally, CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan had gifted the Muslim-majority Ponnani constituency to an independent candidate of People's Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Abdul Naser Mahdani's choice in return for his support in the remaining constituencies.
The Ponnani gamble failed but Mahdani claims credit for the CPI-M's four wins. The party's own assessment, disclosed after a series of state-level meetings, is that the deal with Mahdani did not yield the expected benefits. It reckons that the propaganda unleashed by the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and hostile media on the PDP link and the Lavalin scandal confused party sympathisers.
The party's association with the PDP may not have precipitated a Hindu backlash against it, but it appears to have helped the UDF by bringing about a consolidation of other Muslim groups behind it.
An accused in the Coimbatore serial bomb blast case, Mahdani was in a Tamil Nadu jail without bail or parole for nearly 10 years. After acquittal in 2007, he returned home a hero and resumed his self-appointed mission of weaning Muslims away from the Muslim League, a long-time UDF constituent.
Many viewed Mahdani's activity with suspicion as his campaign in the wake of the demolition of the Babri Masjid had aroused communal passions in the state in the 1990s. CPI-M leaders sought to dispel their fears by asserting he was a changed man.
To the party's embarrassment, the media carried a series of reports based on leaked contents of statements made to police by some terror suspects about contacts with Mahdani or his wife. Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said the reports were based on old material.
The statements were indeed old, but the police had failed to follow them up. It was only after the elections that the police questioned Mahdani and his wife in the light of these statements. Apparently the police had deliberately delayed the follow-up action.
In the Lok Sabha elections of 2004 and the state assembly elections of 2006, the LDF could take the PDP's support without provoking any controversy. It became a matter of debate this time because it was seen as a prelude to the PDP's entry into the LDF.
The CPI-M has only itself to blame for the adverse impact of the Lavalin case. Pinarayi Vijayan was power minister when the state government gave the Canadian company, SNC Lavalin, a contract for modernisation of hydel projects. When the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) named him an accused, the party said the action was politically motivated. The party's state committee directed the chief minister to advise the governor against sanctioning prosecution by the CBI.
The governor, who can take a decision in the matter independent of the cabinet's advice, has not so far accepted or rejected the CBI's request. The length to which the party has gone to avoid Vijayan's arraignment in court has led to a suspicion that it has something to hide.
While identifying disunity in the LDF and the party as a factor that contributed to the electoral drubbing, the CPI-M has glossed over the causes of the disunity. It has also overlooked the role played by party rebels in its rout.
The CPI-M could pacify the Communist Party of India (CPI), which was angered by the allotment of its Ponnani seat to Mahdani's nominee, by offering Wayanad instead. However, the relationship between the two parties at the grassroots level remained strained, affecting the front's campaign.
The state leadership of the Janata Dal-Secular, which was infuriated by the CPI-M's takeover of its Kozhikode seat, openly backed UDF candidates in many places.
The decisions which annoyed the two LDF constituents were not taken in the normal course. They were taken unilaterally by the CPI-M leadership and imposed on the partners. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan dropped broad hints about his differences with the party decision on both the seats.
Pinarayi Vijayan, while explaining the party's assessment of the electoral debacle, made an ominous reference to "breach of Leninist principles of party organisation". Although he did not mention Achuthanandan by name, he was clearly alluding to the latter's distancing himself from the party's stand on the PDP and Lavalin issues.
In the party forum Vijayan's supporters reportedly demanded Achuthanandan's resignation. One of them alleged that three years ago Achuthanandan had discussed with his aides a plan to float an alternative party.
The state leadership is likely to place these matters before the politburo, which alone is authorised to deal with charges against Achuthanandan as he is a member of that body. The politburo has to walk a tightrope, knowing that while Vijayan has complete hold on the organisation Achuthanandan commands popular support beyond the party.
Indo Asian News Service
The national leadership of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) will soon be called upon to adjudicate on the sectarianism in the party's Kerala unit, which has been laid bare by the electoral debacle.
The ruling Left Democratic Front led by the CPI-M, which held 19 of the state's 20 seats in the last Lok Sabha, has only four members in the new house. The CPI-M can derive comfort from the fact that all four are its nominees.
In an attempt to maximise the front's tally, CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan had gifted the Muslim-majority Ponnani constituency to an independent candidate of People's Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Abdul Naser Mahdani's choice in return for his support in the remaining constituencies.
The Ponnani gamble failed but Mahdani claims credit for the CPI-M's four wins. The party's own assessment, disclosed after a series of state-level meetings, is that the deal with Mahdani did not yield the expected benefits. It reckons that the propaganda unleashed by the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and hostile media on the PDP link and the Lavalin scandal confused party sympathisers.
The party's association with the PDP may not have precipitated a Hindu backlash against it, but it appears to have helped the UDF by bringing about a consolidation of other Muslim groups behind it.
An accused in the Coimbatore serial bomb blast case, Mahdani was in a Tamil Nadu jail without bail or parole for nearly 10 years. After acquittal in 2007, he returned home a hero and resumed his self-appointed mission of weaning Muslims away from the Muslim League, a long-time UDF constituent.
Many viewed Mahdani's activity with suspicion as his campaign in the wake of the demolition of the Babri Masjid had aroused communal passions in the state in the 1990s. CPI-M leaders sought to dispel their fears by asserting he was a changed man.
To the party's embarrassment, the media carried a series of reports based on leaked contents of statements made to police by some terror suspects about contacts with Mahdani or his wife. Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said the reports were based on old material.
The statements were indeed old, but the police had failed to follow them up. It was only after the elections that the police questioned Mahdani and his wife in the light of these statements. Apparently the police had deliberately delayed the follow-up action.
In the Lok Sabha elections of 2004 and the state assembly elections of 2006, the LDF could take the PDP's support without provoking any controversy. It became a matter of debate this time because it was seen as a prelude to the PDP's entry into the LDF.
The CPI-M has only itself to blame for the adverse impact of the Lavalin case. Pinarayi Vijayan was power minister when the state government gave the Canadian company, SNC Lavalin, a contract for modernisation of hydel projects. When the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) named him an accused, the party said the action was politically motivated. The party's state committee directed the chief minister to advise the governor against sanctioning prosecution by the CBI.
The governor, who can take a decision in the matter independent of the cabinet's advice, has not so far accepted or rejected the CBI's request. The length to which the party has gone to avoid Vijayan's arraignment in court has led to a suspicion that it has something to hide.
While identifying disunity in the LDF and the party as a factor that contributed to the electoral drubbing, the CPI-M has glossed over the causes of the disunity. It has also overlooked the role played by party rebels in its rout.
The CPI-M could pacify the Communist Party of India (CPI), which was angered by the allotment of its Ponnani seat to Mahdani's nominee, by offering Wayanad instead. However, the relationship between the two parties at the grassroots level remained strained, affecting the front's campaign.
The state leadership of the Janata Dal-Secular, which was infuriated by the CPI-M's takeover of its Kozhikode seat, openly backed UDF candidates in many places.
The decisions which annoyed the two LDF constituents were not taken in the normal course. They were taken unilaterally by the CPI-M leadership and imposed on the partners. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan dropped broad hints about his differences with the party decision on both the seats.
Pinarayi Vijayan, while explaining the party's assessment of the electoral debacle, made an ominous reference to "breach of Leninist principles of party organisation". Although he did not mention Achuthanandan by name, he was clearly alluding to the latter's distancing himself from the party's stand on the PDP and Lavalin issues.
In the party forum Vijayan's supporters reportedly demanded Achuthanandan's resignation. One of them alleged that three years ago Achuthanandan had discussed with his aides a plan to float an alternative party.
The state leadership is likely to place these matters before the politburo, which alone is authorised to deal with charges against Achuthanandan as he is a member of that body. The politburo has to walk a tightrope, knowing that while Vijayan has complete hold on the organisation Achuthanandan commands popular support beyond the party.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Poll reverses set stage for fresh faction fight in CPI-M
BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today
THE Left Democratic Front (LDF) has begun a review of the causes of its humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. As was expected, there are indications that the rout will aggravate factionalism in the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which leads the front.
The LDF, which had bagged 18 of the state's 20 Lok Sabha seats in 2004, could get only four this time. All four seats were won by the CPI-M. The CPI, which contested four seats, and the Kerala Congress (Joseph), which contested one, drew a blank.
Neither CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan nor LDF convener Vaikom Viswan faced the media after the results became known on Saturday.
CPI state secretary Veliyam Bhargavan said the front's defeat was the result of a nationwide surge in favour of the Congress, which was seen as the most effective bulwark against the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The CPI-M state secretariat put forward a similar explanation in a written statement. It also claimed the impact of the efforts of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the ant-communist media to unify all anti-communist elements was also discernible in the Kerala verdict.
It added the party would look into the loss of some votes which the party and the front had traditionally received and take corrective measures in the working of the party and the LDF. During the long interval between polling and counting of votes, the state secretariat had called for reports from the party's lower units on possible vote losses.
The Pinarayi Vijayan faction, which controls the organisation, is expected to use these reports to take action against Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan's supporters for anti-party activities.
Findings by the lower committees that the Achuthanandan faction had neutralised party votes or even diverted them to the UDF would provide fresh ammunition for the demand for his resignation as chief minister.
Pinarayi followers had raised the demand at a recent meeting of the party state secretariat.
Achuthanandan, who talked to media persons after the results were declared, was asked whether he would assume responsibility for the election reverses "What for?" he asked.
He denied that the election results were a verdict against the state government.
In response to a pointed question as to who was responsible for the reverses, he said the Politburo and the central committee, which meet in New Delhi this week, would decide that.
On Sunday, the national leaders of the CPI-M and other Left parties met in New Delhi for a preliminary discussion on the outcome of the elections, which had dashed their hopes of playing a major role in the formation of the new government at the Centre.
The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, which is only ten seats short of an absolute majority in the new Lok Sabha, is in a position to form a new government without the help of the Left, which anyway has been crippled by its losses in Kerala and West Bengal.
There are no doubt some common causes for the poor performance of the CPI-M and other Left parties in West Bengal and Kerala.
However, the reverses in Kerala have additional dimensions. They represent failure of Pinarayi Vijayan's policy of forging new alliances with parties of dubious background.
When former chief minister K. Karunakaran walked out of the Congress, Vijayan was keen to enter into an alliance with him. Achuthanandan, who opposed the move, was able to get the national leadership to scuttle it.
On the eve of the Lok Sabha elections, Vijayan struck a deal with People's Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Abdul Naser Ma'dani behind the back of the LDF partners.
Under the agreement, he gifted the CPI's Ponnani to an independent candidate of Ma'dani's choice in exchange for PDP's support in the remaining 19 seats.
The election results show that Vijayan's calculation that PDP help will help weaken the hold of the Muslim League in Malappuram district, has not worked out. The alliance with the PDP apparently alienated other Muslim groups from the party.
Unlike in West Bengal, the CPI-M faced a serious challenge in the state from members thrown out for anti-party activities. They worked against the party's candidates and put up their own candidates in some constituencies.
Achuthanandan is expected to draw attention to these factors and demand a change in the state party leadership. The party's national leadership, which is itself in the dock after the reverses, will not be able to meet his demand.
Gulf Today
THE Left Democratic Front (LDF) has begun a review of the causes of its humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. As was expected, there are indications that the rout will aggravate factionalism in the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which leads the front.
The LDF, which had bagged 18 of the state's 20 Lok Sabha seats in 2004, could get only four this time. All four seats were won by the CPI-M. The CPI, which contested four seats, and the Kerala Congress (Joseph), which contested one, drew a blank.
Neither CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan nor LDF convener Vaikom Viswan faced the media after the results became known on Saturday.
CPI state secretary Veliyam Bhargavan said the front's defeat was the result of a nationwide surge in favour of the Congress, which was seen as the most effective bulwark against the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The CPI-M state secretariat put forward a similar explanation in a written statement. It also claimed the impact of the efforts of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the ant-communist media to unify all anti-communist elements was also discernible in the Kerala verdict.
It added the party would look into the loss of some votes which the party and the front had traditionally received and take corrective measures in the working of the party and the LDF. During the long interval between polling and counting of votes, the state secretariat had called for reports from the party's lower units on possible vote losses.
The Pinarayi Vijayan faction, which controls the organisation, is expected to use these reports to take action against Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan's supporters for anti-party activities.
Findings by the lower committees that the Achuthanandan faction had neutralised party votes or even diverted them to the UDF would provide fresh ammunition for the demand for his resignation as chief minister.
Pinarayi followers had raised the demand at a recent meeting of the party state secretariat.
Achuthanandan, who talked to media persons after the results were declared, was asked whether he would assume responsibility for the election reverses "What for?" he asked.
He denied that the election results were a verdict against the state government.
In response to a pointed question as to who was responsible for the reverses, he said the Politburo and the central committee, which meet in New Delhi this week, would decide that.
On Sunday, the national leaders of the CPI-M and other Left parties met in New Delhi for a preliminary discussion on the outcome of the elections, which had dashed their hopes of playing a major role in the formation of the new government at the Centre.
The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, which is only ten seats short of an absolute majority in the new Lok Sabha, is in a position to form a new government without the help of the Left, which anyway has been crippled by its losses in Kerala and West Bengal.
There are no doubt some common causes for the poor performance of the CPI-M and other Left parties in West Bengal and Kerala.
However, the reverses in Kerala have additional dimensions. They represent failure of Pinarayi Vijayan's policy of forging new alliances with parties of dubious background.
When former chief minister K. Karunakaran walked out of the Congress, Vijayan was keen to enter into an alliance with him. Achuthanandan, who opposed the move, was able to get the national leadership to scuttle it.
On the eve of the Lok Sabha elections, Vijayan struck a deal with People's Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Abdul Naser Ma'dani behind the back of the LDF partners.
Under the agreement, he gifted the CPI's Ponnani to an independent candidate of Ma'dani's choice in exchange for PDP's support in the remaining 19 seats.
The election results show that Vijayan's calculation that PDP help will help weaken the hold of the Muslim League in Malappuram district, has not worked out. The alliance with the PDP apparently alienated other Muslim groups from the party.
Unlike in West Bengal, the CPI-M faced a serious challenge in the state from members thrown out for anti-party activities. They worked against the party's candidates and put up their own candidates in some constituencies.
Achuthanandan is expected to draw attention to these factors and demand a change in the state party leadership. The party's national leadership, which is itself in the dock after the reverses, will not be able to meet his demand.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Sectarianism dampens mood on the eve of LDF anniversary
BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today
As the third anniversary of Kerala's Left Democratic Front (LDF) government approaches, sectarianism in the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) is in full swing again and the knives are out.
Neither Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan nor his party appears to be in a mood to celebrate the anniversary, which falls on next Monday.
Much will, of course, depend on the results of the Lok Sabha elections, which are expected on Saturday (March 16), the date set for counting of votes.
Both Achuthanandan and state party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan had said before the elections that the results would be a verdict on the state administration too.
Early in the campaign, LDF spokesmen asserted the alliance would do better than last time, even though there was little room for improvement since it had made an almost clean sweep in the Lok Sabha elections of 2004.
Even after polling they continued to exude optimism in public, but the CPI-M's post-poll exercises are a giveaway.
Party committees at various levels have been busy assessing vote losses and fixing responsibility for them.Evidently an effort is on to find scapegoats for likely reverses.
Several party committees have reportedly concluded that Achuthanandan's supporters worked against the party nominees in several constituencies.
With Pinarayi Vijayan's supporters asking for Achuthanandan's scalp, the sectarian feud in the party, which re-surfaced recently, has entered a new stage.
According to media reports, at a meeting of the party's state secretariat on Friday, almost all members demanded Achuthanandan's resignation.
The demand came after Pinarayi Vijayan, in a report, said that Achuthanandan had voiced his personal views on the Lavalin issue at the Cabinet meeting. The members said Achuthanandan had flouted party discipline in giving expression to view different from those of the party.
Ahead of last week's cabinet meeting to consider the Advocate General's advice to turn down the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) request for permission to prosecute Pinarayi Vijayan in the Lavalin case, the CPI-M state committee, at a meeting held in the presence of general secretary Prakash Karat, had asked the government to accept it.
At the cabinet meeting, Achuthanandan reportedly threatened to convey to the Governor his personal view that the CBI's request must be granted.
However, he dropped the idea after NK Premachandran, minister belonging to the Revolutionary Socialist Party, pointed out that such a step would lead to the fall of the government as it meant loss of collective responsibility.
Media reports about the demand for Achuthanandan's resignation in the state committee caused a flurry of activity in New Delhi.
After telephonic contacts with the state leadership, the national office said Achuthanandan's exit was not discussed.
At the instance of the national office, the state party formally denied reports about demands for the chief minister's resignation.
However, it did not contradict reports that the state leadership would complain to the national leadership about Achuthanandan's conduct and demand his ouster from the politburo.
According to published accounts, Labour Minister PK Gurudasan was among those who asked the chief minister to step down if he was not ready to abide by party decisions. MC Josephine was the only Achuthanandan loyalist who did not join the chorus for his resignation.
By cracking the whip the state leadership has been able to isolate Achuthanandan almost totally. But he appears to be ready to fight alone if necessary.
The recrudescence of sectarianism in the state party poses a severe challenge to the national leadership. In earlier interventions in the inner-party feud, it made it clear that it wants Pinarayi Vijayan and Achuthanandan to continue in their respective posts. It is this formula that the state leadership is challenging.
The infighting is likely to intensify further after the election results are announced. If the LDF fares badly, the state leadership is sure to lay the blame at Achuthanandan's door and renew the call for his resignation.
Achuthanandan, on his part, can be expected to argue that the party lost because of the poor image resulting from the state secretary's implication in a corruption case and the electoral understanding with a communal party like the People's Democratic Party of Abdul Naser Ma'dani.
While the LDF constituents cannot question the CPI-M's right to choose its leader, the party cannot effect a change of chief minister without considering their views also.
The CPI, the second largest constituent of the alliance, has made it clear that it does not favour Achuthanandan's exit.
Gulf Today
As the third anniversary of Kerala's Left Democratic Front (LDF) government approaches, sectarianism in the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) is in full swing again and the knives are out.
Neither Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan nor his party appears to be in a mood to celebrate the anniversary, which falls on next Monday.
Much will, of course, depend on the results of the Lok Sabha elections, which are expected on Saturday (March 16), the date set for counting of votes.
Both Achuthanandan and state party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan had said before the elections that the results would be a verdict on the state administration too.
Early in the campaign, LDF spokesmen asserted the alliance would do better than last time, even though there was little room for improvement since it had made an almost clean sweep in the Lok Sabha elections of 2004.
Even after polling they continued to exude optimism in public, but the CPI-M's post-poll exercises are a giveaway.
Party committees at various levels have been busy assessing vote losses and fixing responsibility for them.Evidently an effort is on to find scapegoats for likely reverses.
Several party committees have reportedly concluded that Achuthanandan's supporters worked against the party nominees in several constituencies.
With Pinarayi Vijayan's supporters asking for Achuthanandan's scalp, the sectarian feud in the party, which re-surfaced recently, has entered a new stage.
According to media reports, at a meeting of the party's state secretariat on Friday, almost all members demanded Achuthanandan's resignation.
The demand came after Pinarayi Vijayan, in a report, said that Achuthanandan had voiced his personal views on the Lavalin issue at the Cabinet meeting. The members said Achuthanandan had flouted party discipline in giving expression to view different from those of the party.
Ahead of last week's cabinet meeting to consider the Advocate General's advice to turn down the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) request for permission to prosecute Pinarayi Vijayan in the Lavalin case, the CPI-M state committee, at a meeting held in the presence of general secretary Prakash Karat, had asked the government to accept it.
At the cabinet meeting, Achuthanandan reportedly threatened to convey to the Governor his personal view that the CBI's request must be granted.
However, he dropped the idea after NK Premachandran, minister belonging to the Revolutionary Socialist Party, pointed out that such a step would lead to the fall of the government as it meant loss of collective responsibility.
Media reports about the demand for Achuthanandan's resignation in the state committee caused a flurry of activity in New Delhi.
After telephonic contacts with the state leadership, the national office said Achuthanandan's exit was not discussed.
At the instance of the national office, the state party formally denied reports about demands for the chief minister's resignation.
However, it did not contradict reports that the state leadership would complain to the national leadership about Achuthanandan's conduct and demand his ouster from the politburo.
According to published accounts, Labour Minister PK Gurudasan was among those who asked the chief minister to step down if he was not ready to abide by party decisions. MC Josephine was the only Achuthanandan loyalist who did not join the chorus for his resignation.
By cracking the whip the state leadership has been able to isolate Achuthanandan almost totally. But he appears to be ready to fight alone if necessary.
The recrudescence of sectarianism in the state party poses a severe challenge to the national leadership. In earlier interventions in the inner-party feud, it made it clear that it wants Pinarayi Vijayan and Achuthanandan to continue in their respective posts. It is this formula that the state leadership is challenging.
The infighting is likely to intensify further after the election results are announced. If the LDF fares badly, the state leadership is sure to lay the blame at Achuthanandan's door and renew the call for his resignation.
Achuthanandan, on his part, can be expected to argue that the party lost because of the poor image resulting from the state secretary's implication in a corruption case and the electoral understanding with a communal party like the People's Democratic Party of Abdul Naser Ma'dani.
While the LDF constituents cannot question the CPI-M's right to choose its leader, the party cannot effect a change of chief minister without considering their views also.
The CPI, the second largest constituent of the alliance, has made it clear that it does not favour Achuthanandan's exit.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Political leaders rise in defence of working class
BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today
In this year's May Day perorations, leaders of both the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF), cutting across party lines, stoutly defended the state's trade unions which had come under sharp criticism from the High Court the previous day.
LDF leaders, additionally, took up cudgels against the powerful Catholic Church which recently announced plans to make its presence felt in the labour sector.
In a pastoral letter, read at more than 3,000 churches during Sunday services a week ago, the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC), which claims to represent 5.3 million Catholics, had asked the faithful to strengthen the labour unions under its control and set up labour self-help groups.
Since 1960 the Church has been running an organisation called the Kerala Labour Movement.
In 1979 the KCBC set up a labour commission with the proclaimed objective of mobilising the vast body of unorganised workers in the state.
The plan to revitalise these outfits is apparently a response to the growing hostility between the Catholic Church and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which heads the LDF.
The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), affiliated to the CPI-M, is the largest apex labour organisation in the state.
In an immediate response to KCBC announcement, its state secretary, MM Lawrence, said hundreds of Catholics were members of CITU unions and they would ignore the Church's call.
Addressing a May Day rally at Kottayam, CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan came down heavily on attempts to divide the working class on the basis of caste and religion.
Religious consciousness had not come to the aid of workers anywhere, he said. It was working class consciousness that gave them strength.
The KCBC is not the only organisation operating in the trade union area with a sectarian agenda.
Like other political parties in the state, the Indian Union Muslim League, too, has a trade union, the Swathanthra Thozhilali Union (STU-independent labour union) and a peasant organisation, the Swathanthra Karshaka Sangham (SKS-independent peasant organisation).
India's largest apex trade union organisation, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, belongs to the Sangh Parivar, which is the engine of Hindutva ideology.
CITU-affiliated unions have been working with BMS-affiliated unions in the state disregarding their links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which they condemn as communal outfits.
On May Day eve, a division bench of the high court, while hearing petitions filed by the Cochin Port Trust and container owners seeking a declaration that the strike by trade unions which hit work at the container terminal was illegal, made some caustic observations on the trade unions.
It said unions were acting against the state's interests. They were aware only of their rights, not of their responsibilities. They had evolved a work culture which was not suitable for the state.
Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan, addressing a rally at Thiruvananthapuram, described the court's observations as 'unfortunate.'
At the same time, he asked the unions to introspect and remove their shortcomings, if any.
He said the government's approach was one of finding solutions to labour disputes through tripartite proceedings. The unions were cooperating with such initiatives.
One issue which did not receive adequate attention in the public exchanges is the relationship between political parties and trade unions.
Many problems on the labour front can be traced to the parties' control over unions.
With each party setting up its own trade union, there is multiplicity of unions in all industries and institutions.
Inter-union rivalry often affects the working of institutions. To make things worse, parties sometimes use unions to further their political interests.
Although all trade union organisations subscribe to the "one industry, one union" formula in principle, they do not sincerely cooperate in its implementation.
Labour unrest is not a major problem in Kerala today. However, investors still tend to shy away because of the reputation for militancy, which the state's trade unions had acquired by resorting to measures involving physical harassment of management personnel at an earlier period.
An unsavoury practice that originated at that time, known as "nokkukooli" (which means looking- on wages), is still in vogue in areas where head-load workers have strong unions. It involves paying union members who simply look on while others work.
Last year, Pinarayi Vijayan condemned "nokkukooli" as an immoral practice. "Aren't there workers in our state who claim wages for just observing others work?" he asked rhetorically. "Are we not endorsing their demand? Why should we watch this plunder helplessly?"
A year later, "nokkukooli" still prevails.
Gulf Today
In this year's May Day perorations, leaders of both the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF), cutting across party lines, stoutly defended the state's trade unions which had come under sharp criticism from the High Court the previous day.
LDF leaders, additionally, took up cudgels against the powerful Catholic Church which recently announced plans to make its presence felt in the labour sector.
In a pastoral letter, read at more than 3,000 churches during Sunday services a week ago, the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC), which claims to represent 5.3 million Catholics, had asked the faithful to strengthen the labour unions under its control and set up labour self-help groups.
Since 1960 the Church has been running an organisation called the Kerala Labour Movement.
In 1979 the KCBC set up a labour commission with the proclaimed objective of mobilising the vast body of unorganised workers in the state.
The plan to revitalise these outfits is apparently a response to the growing hostility between the Catholic Church and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which heads the LDF.
The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), affiliated to the CPI-M, is the largest apex labour organisation in the state.
In an immediate response to KCBC announcement, its state secretary, MM Lawrence, said hundreds of Catholics were members of CITU unions and they would ignore the Church's call.
Addressing a May Day rally at Kottayam, CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan came down heavily on attempts to divide the working class on the basis of caste and religion.
Religious consciousness had not come to the aid of workers anywhere, he said. It was working class consciousness that gave them strength.
The KCBC is not the only organisation operating in the trade union area with a sectarian agenda.
Like other political parties in the state, the Indian Union Muslim League, too, has a trade union, the Swathanthra Thozhilali Union (STU-independent labour union) and a peasant organisation, the Swathanthra Karshaka Sangham (SKS-independent peasant organisation).
India's largest apex trade union organisation, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, belongs to the Sangh Parivar, which is the engine of Hindutva ideology.
CITU-affiliated unions have been working with BMS-affiliated unions in the state disregarding their links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which they condemn as communal outfits.
On May Day eve, a division bench of the high court, while hearing petitions filed by the Cochin Port Trust and container owners seeking a declaration that the strike by trade unions which hit work at the container terminal was illegal, made some caustic observations on the trade unions.
It said unions were acting against the state's interests. They were aware only of their rights, not of their responsibilities. They had evolved a work culture which was not suitable for the state.
Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan, addressing a rally at Thiruvananthapuram, described the court's observations as 'unfortunate.'
At the same time, he asked the unions to introspect and remove their shortcomings, if any.
He said the government's approach was one of finding solutions to labour disputes through tripartite proceedings. The unions were cooperating with such initiatives.
One issue which did not receive adequate attention in the public exchanges is the relationship between political parties and trade unions.
Many problems on the labour front can be traced to the parties' control over unions.
With each party setting up its own trade union, there is multiplicity of unions in all industries and institutions.
Inter-union rivalry often affects the working of institutions. To make things worse, parties sometimes use unions to further their political interests.
Although all trade union organisations subscribe to the "one industry, one union" formula in principle, they do not sincerely cooperate in its implementation.
Labour unrest is not a major problem in Kerala today. However, investors still tend to shy away because of the reputation for militancy, which the state's trade unions had acquired by resorting to measures involving physical harassment of management personnel at an earlier period.
An unsavoury practice that originated at that time, known as "nokkukooli" (which means looking- on wages), is still in vogue in areas where head-load workers have strong unions. It involves paying union members who simply look on while others work.
Last year, Pinarayi Vijayan condemned "nokkukooli" as an immoral practice. "Aren't there workers in our state who claim wages for just observing others work?" he asked rhetorically. "Are we not endorsing their demand? Why should we watch this plunder helplessly?"
A year later, "nokkukooli" still prevails.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Kerala awaits outcome of CPI-M's poll gamble
B.R.P. BHASKAR
Indo-Asian News Service
One question nags political parties and pundits alike after the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala: Will the Communist Party of India-Marxist's gamble pay off or will the communal chickens come home to roost?
All 20 constituencies of the state went to the polls on April 16. Since counting of votes will take place only on May 16, there is an agonizing wait of a month before the voting machines yield their secret.
Elections in the state are essentially trials of strength between the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front. In the assembly elections, the people vote the two fronts to power alternately.
While in the panchayat polls, the LDF has an edge over the UDF, in the Lok Sabha elections, the UDF generally fared better than the LDF until 2004, when the LDF bagged 18 of the 20 seats. The Indian Federal Democratic Party, a partner of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, got one seat. The lone UDF seat went to the Indian Union Muslim League. For the first time, the Congress drew a blank.
The popular explanation for the LDF landslide of 2004 is that the people turned away from the UDF, disgusted by the prolonged group war in the Congress and the cynical poll-eve patch-up. The pendulum swung so widely that the UDF was almost wiped out.
Several Muslim groups, unhappy over the League's soft response to the demolition of Babri Masjid, backed the LDF in 2004 and in the assembly elections of 2006. The lesson the CPI-M drew from these elections was that Muslim support can make a difference to its fortune.
The Kerala party, which has to alternate in power with the Congress-led alliance, envies the record of the West Bengal party, which has been in office continuously for three decades. For some years, it has been looking out for new partners who can help it achieve the dream of unbroken run of power.
When former chief minister K. Karunakaran walked out of the Congress with his followers, state party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan was ready to welcome him into the LDF. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan set his face against it. As the national leadership sided with him, Vijayan's plan fell through.
Before the Lok Sabha elections, Pinarayi Vijayan identified People's Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Abdul Naser Mahdani as a partner who can help boost the LDF's prospects. A fiery orator, Mahdani shot into prominence in the 1990s with a virulent campaign on the Babri Masjid issue. He was arrested in connection with a series of bomb blasts in Coimbatore shortly before a visit by BJP leader L.K. Advani in 1998, and remained in jail without bail or parole for more than nine years. On acquittal in 2007, he emerged with a martyr's halo.
Vijayan struck a deal with Mahdani under which the PDP extended support to the LDF in 19 constituencies in exchange for its adopting a candidate of his choice in Ponnani. Achuthanandan set his face against this deal, too, but this time the national leadership sided with Vijayan.
General secretary Prakash Karat apparently endorsed Pinarayi Vijayan's electoral scheme with a view to maximizing the number of seats the party can win in Kerala.
Of the party's 43 seats in the outgoing Lok Sabha, 40 came from its strongholds of West Bengal (26 out of a total of 42), Kerala (12 out of 20) and Tripura (2 out of 2). Local tie-ups brought in three seats -- two from Tamil Nadu and one from Andhra Pradesh.
Since Singur and Nandigram were sure to hurt the party's prospects in West Bengal, it wanted to retain the gains of 2004 in Kerala at all costs. Playing on Muslim sentiments a la Abdul Naser Mahdani appeared to offer the best chance in this regard. To maintain secular balance, the party brought on to its platform Janapaksham, a BJP splinter group, also.
The PDP deal ran counter to the CPI-M's proclaimed policy of not having any truck with communal parties, which was never pursued strictly anyway. A breakaway faction of the predominantly Christian outfit, the Kerala Congress, is a constituent of the LDF. The Indian National League, a splinter of the Muslim League, enjoys the benefits of LDF membership without being a constituent.
Muslims constitute 25 percent of Kerala's population and Christians 19 percent. The common perception that Communists are anti-religion has limited the party's appeal among both groups. The piggy-back ride may have helped the LDF to gain Muslim votes but it may have come with a high price tag.
The CPI-M took away two seats of its alliance partners to put through its electoral strategy. The CPI, which resented the gifting of its Ponnani seat to Mahdani's nominee, was pacified by offering it Wayanad instead. The Janata Dal-Secular, which was left with no seat after the CPI-M set up its own candidate in Kozhikode, vent its anger by working against the LDF.
Analysts are certain to scrutinize the poll results closely to see how the Hindu majority, from which the CPI-M draws the bulk of its support, has responded to the party's pampering of the PDP.
Indo-Asian News Service
One question nags political parties and pundits alike after the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala: Will the Communist Party of India-Marxist's gamble pay off or will the communal chickens come home to roost?
All 20 constituencies of the state went to the polls on April 16. Since counting of votes will take place only on May 16, there is an agonizing wait of a month before the voting machines yield their secret.
Elections in the state are essentially trials of strength between the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front. In the assembly elections, the people vote the two fronts to power alternately.
While in the panchayat polls, the LDF has an edge over the UDF, in the Lok Sabha elections, the UDF generally fared better than the LDF until 2004, when the LDF bagged 18 of the 20 seats. The Indian Federal Democratic Party, a partner of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, got one seat. The lone UDF seat went to the Indian Union Muslim League. For the first time, the Congress drew a blank.
The popular explanation for the LDF landslide of 2004 is that the people turned away from the UDF, disgusted by the prolonged group war in the Congress and the cynical poll-eve patch-up. The pendulum swung so widely that the UDF was almost wiped out.
Several Muslim groups, unhappy over the League's soft response to the demolition of Babri Masjid, backed the LDF in 2004 and in the assembly elections of 2006. The lesson the CPI-M drew from these elections was that Muslim support can make a difference to its fortune.
The Kerala party, which has to alternate in power with the Congress-led alliance, envies the record of the West Bengal party, which has been in office continuously for three decades. For some years, it has been looking out for new partners who can help it achieve the dream of unbroken run of power.
When former chief minister K. Karunakaran walked out of the Congress with his followers, state party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan was ready to welcome him into the LDF. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan set his face against it. As the national leadership sided with him, Vijayan's plan fell through.
Before the Lok Sabha elections, Pinarayi Vijayan identified People's Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Abdul Naser Mahdani as a partner who can help boost the LDF's prospects. A fiery orator, Mahdani shot into prominence in the 1990s with a virulent campaign on the Babri Masjid issue. He was arrested in connection with a series of bomb blasts in Coimbatore shortly before a visit by BJP leader L.K. Advani in 1998, and remained in jail without bail or parole for more than nine years. On acquittal in 2007, he emerged with a martyr's halo.
Vijayan struck a deal with Mahdani under which the PDP extended support to the LDF in 19 constituencies in exchange for its adopting a candidate of his choice in Ponnani. Achuthanandan set his face against this deal, too, but this time the national leadership sided with Vijayan.
General secretary Prakash Karat apparently endorsed Pinarayi Vijayan's electoral scheme with a view to maximizing the number of seats the party can win in Kerala.
Of the party's 43 seats in the outgoing Lok Sabha, 40 came from its strongholds of West Bengal (26 out of a total of 42), Kerala (12 out of 20) and Tripura (2 out of 2). Local tie-ups brought in three seats -- two from Tamil Nadu and one from Andhra Pradesh.
Since Singur and Nandigram were sure to hurt the party's prospects in West Bengal, it wanted to retain the gains of 2004 in Kerala at all costs. Playing on Muslim sentiments a la Abdul Naser Mahdani appeared to offer the best chance in this regard. To maintain secular balance, the party brought on to its platform Janapaksham, a BJP splinter group, also.
The PDP deal ran counter to the CPI-M's proclaimed policy of not having any truck with communal parties, which was never pursued strictly anyway. A breakaway faction of the predominantly Christian outfit, the Kerala Congress, is a constituent of the LDF. The Indian National League, a splinter of the Muslim League, enjoys the benefits of LDF membership without being a constituent.
Muslims constitute 25 percent of Kerala's population and Christians 19 percent. The common perception that Communists are anti-religion has limited the party's appeal among both groups. The piggy-back ride may have helped the LDF to gain Muslim votes but it may have come with a high price tag.
The CPI-M took away two seats of its alliance partners to put through its electoral strategy. The CPI, which resented the gifting of its Ponnani seat to Mahdani's nominee, was pacified by offering it Wayanad instead. The Janata Dal-Secular, which was left with no seat after the CPI-M set up its own candidate in Kozhikode, vent its anger by working against the LDF.
Analysts are certain to scrutinize the poll results closely to see how the Hindu majority, from which the CPI-M draws the bulk of its support, has responded to the party's pampering of the PDP.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Two-front system faces challenge from inside and outside
BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today
The two-front system that has dominated Kerala's electoral scene for more than two decades is facing severe challenges from inside and outside, casting a shadow on their future.
Although public attention is centred on the fronts, elections in the state are now multi-cornered. In the 2004 Lok Sabha poll, there was no constituency which had fewer than five candidates. Out of the 20 constituencies, 17 had six or more candidates each.
For long, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been striving to break through the solid phalanx put up by the rival alliances, the United Democratic Front (UDF) led by the Congress party and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). So far, it has not been able to win even an assembly seat.
When the BJP-led coalition was in power at the Centre, the party got one of its state leaders, O. Rajagopal, into the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh and made him a minister.His promotion of the state's interests earned him a personal following but it was not enough to win a Lok Sabha seat.
The BJP contested 19 Lok Sabha seats last time and garnered 10.4% of the votes polled.
However, all candidates excepting Rajagopal and another forfeited their deposits. In the assembly elections of 2006 the party's vote share dropped to 4.8%.
The BJP is not the only national party looking for a breakthrough in the state.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was in the arena last time with 14 candidates. All forfeited their deposits. The party's vote share was less than 0.5%.
The BSP is in the field again in a big way, and Mayawati was in Thiruvananthapuram during the weekend to boost its candidates' prospects.
The party, which captured power in UP last year by reaching out beyond its traditional Dalit base, is planning to replicate that experiment in Kerala. It has fielded this time two experienced non-Dalit politicians, A. Neelalohithadasan Nadar (Thiruvanathapuram) and KK Nair (Pathanamthitta).
Neelalohithadasan, who began public life as a Congressman, shot into fame decades ago by defeating Communist Party of India (CPI) veteran MN Govindan Nair in Thiruvananthapuram by mobilising the support of his backward class Nadar community. A Janata Dal (S) minister in the last LDF regime, he had to quit the party and the government following allegations of sexual harassment.
KK Nair, who was first elected to the assembly from Pathanamthitta as an Independent, had kept a government led by K. Karunakaran in office when it was reduced to a minority. The price he extracted was the formation of Pathanamthitta district.
Since neither the LDF nor the UDF showed interest in an alliance with it, the Nationalist Congress Party NCP), which is a recognised national party, is in the field all by itself.
The party's state president, K. Muraleedharan, who repeatedly threatened to contest all the 20 seats, has now decided, in consultation with the national president, Sharad Pawar, to put up just four candidates.
Apart from these national parties, some local players are also in the picture. They include breakaway Left elements.
Both the fronts are in disarray. The LDF's problems are organisational. There is deep discontent among its constituents.
The Congress has no serious problems with its UDF partners. However, there is discontent in the party over the choice of candidates.
The CPI-M had its way in Ponnani, but its cosy relationship with Abdul Naser Mahdani's People's Democratic Party(PDP) has embittered the CPI and the Revolutionary Socialist Party. Mahdani was the star of the LDF show at Kuttipuram, which was inaugurated by CPI-M secretary Pinarayi Vijayan.
The PDP leaders were not seen at the LDF conventions in the CPI constituencies.
The CPI-M has to contend with the threat posed by dissidents in the Onchiyam area of Vadakara, who have set up a parallel party unit. It has also to reckon with the influence of dissidents in the Shoranur area of Palakkad, who demonstrated their popular support in the municipal by-elections.
The Left co-ordination committee floated by the dissidents is fielding candidates in five constituencies, including Vadakara and Palakkad.
The Marxist Communist Party of India (United), another dissident outfit, is putting up two candidates.
The CPI-M apparently faces more threats from inside and outside its front than the Congress. However, it is doubtful if the Congress machinery is capable of taking full advantage of its rival's discomfiture.
Gulf Today
The two-front system that has dominated Kerala's electoral scene for more than two decades is facing severe challenges from inside and outside, casting a shadow on their future.
Although public attention is centred on the fronts, elections in the state are now multi-cornered. In the 2004 Lok Sabha poll, there was no constituency which had fewer than five candidates. Out of the 20 constituencies, 17 had six or more candidates each.
For long, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been striving to break through the solid phalanx put up by the rival alliances, the United Democratic Front (UDF) led by the Congress party and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). So far, it has not been able to win even an assembly seat.
When the BJP-led coalition was in power at the Centre, the party got one of its state leaders, O. Rajagopal, into the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh and made him a minister.His promotion of the state's interests earned him a personal following but it was not enough to win a Lok Sabha seat.
The BJP contested 19 Lok Sabha seats last time and garnered 10.4% of the votes polled.
However, all candidates excepting Rajagopal and another forfeited their deposits. In the assembly elections of 2006 the party's vote share dropped to 4.8%.
The BJP is not the only national party looking for a breakthrough in the state.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was in the arena last time with 14 candidates. All forfeited their deposits. The party's vote share was less than 0.5%.
The BSP is in the field again in a big way, and Mayawati was in Thiruvananthapuram during the weekend to boost its candidates' prospects.
The party, which captured power in UP last year by reaching out beyond its traditional Dalit base, is planning to replicate that experiment in Kerala. It has fielded this time two experienced non-Dalit politicians, A. Neelalohithadasan Nadar (Thiruvanathapuram) and KK Nair (Pathanamthitta).
Neelalohithadasan, who began public life as a Congressman, shot into fame decades ago by defeating Communist Party of India (CPI) veteran MN Govindan Nair in Thiruvananthapuram by mobilising the support of his backward class Nadar community. A Janata Dal (S) minister in the last LDF regime, he had to quit the party and the government following allegations of sexual harassment.
KK Nair, who was first elected to the assembly from Pathanamthitta as an Independent, had kept a government led by K. Karunakaran in office when it was reduced to a minority. The price he extracted was the formation of Pathanamthitta district.
Since neither the LDF nor the UDF showed interest in an alliance with it, the Nationalist Congress Party NCP), which is a recognised national party, is in the field all by itself.
The party's state president, K. Muraleedharan, who repeatedly threatened to contest all the 20 seats, has now decided, in consultation with the national president, Sharad Pawar, to put up just four candidates.
Apart from these national parties, some local players are also in the picture. They include breakaway Left elements.
Both the fronts are in disarray. The LDF's problems are organisational. There is deep discontent among its constituents.
The Congress has no serious problems with its UDF partners. However, there is discontent in the party over the choice of candidates.
The CPI-M had its way in Ponnani, but its cosy relationship with Abdul Naser Mahdani's People's Democratic Party(PDP) has embittered the CPI and the Revolutionary Socialist Party. Mahdani was the star of the LDF show at Kuttipuram, which was inaugurated by CPI-M secretary Pinarayi Vijayan.
The PDP leaders were not seen at the LDF conventions in the CPI constituencies.
The CPI-M has to contend with the threat posed by dissidents in the Onchiyam area of Vadakara, who have set up a parallel party unit. It has also to reckon with the influence of dissidents in the Shoranur area of Palakkad, who demonstrated their popular support in the municipal by-elections.
The Left co-ordination committee floated by the dissidents is fielding candidates in five constituencies, including Vadakara and Palakkad.
The Marxist Communist Party of India (United), another dissident outfit, is putting up two candidates.
The CPI-M apparently faces more threats from inside and outside its front than the Congress. However, it is doubtful if the Congress machinery is capable of taking full advantage of its rival's discomfiture.
Monday, March 16, 2009
LDF realises united we stand, divided we fall
BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today
With the two Communist parties engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation, the Left Democratic Front, which rules Kerala, is caught in the worst crisis in the three decades of its existence.
Realising that the front's future is at stake, the national leadership of the two parties have urged the state units to resolve the differences amicably. Mediators are working on a face-saving formula.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which heads the front, and the Communist Party of India (CPI), the second largest partner, fell out on the issue of a common candidate to challenge the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in the Ponnani constituency, which it has always won.
Trouble began when the CPI-M, at the instance of People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Abdul Naser Mahdani, who has offered support to the LDF, sponsored Husain Randathani, a college principal, as an Independent candidate for Ponnani.
The CPI refused to endorse Randathani as giving Ponnani to him will reduce its share of seats from four to three.
It proposed AP Kunhamu, who was associated with a pro-CPI bank employees union, as the LDF-backed independent.
CPI-M blackballed Kunhamu, saying he is close to the National Development Front NDF), which it considers an extremist outfit.
However, on Sunday, Randathani, apparently at the CPI-M's behest, made an attempt to win the CPI's favour.
Matters came to a head when CPI state secretary Veliyam Bhargavan, after heated exchanges with CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, walked out of the LDF meeting which was to have finalised division of seats.
At a press conference, he announced that the CPI would put up candidates for all CPI-M seats if the LDF did not accept its candidate in Ponnani.
He also said the party would stay away from the LDF's district conventions scheduled for the weekend.
Pinarayi Vijayan sought to mollify the CPI by offering to protect its share of four seats. However, he did not withdraw his party's support to Randathani, who has already started campaigning.
Vijayan reminded Bhargavan that when the CPI fought alone last time most of its candidates had forfeited their security deposits.
When the LDF began talks on seat division, the Revolutionary Socialist Party demanded that the Kollam seat, which the CPI-M had taken from it in the last elections, be returned.
It threatened to pull out NK Premachandran, its nominee in the state cabinet, if its claim was overlooked.
The CPI-M ignored the threat. The RSP decided to swallow its words and remain in the government.
The CPI-M asked the Janata Dal (S) to return the Kozhikode seat, which its leader, MP Veerendrakumar, had successfully contested in the last two elections, and take Wayanad instead.
Since the LDF does not seem to have a winning chance in Waynad, the JD (S) turned down the suggestion.
It said it was ready to give up its cabinet berth and all other posts held by it as a member of the alliance if it was denied the Kozhikode seat.
Taking into account the CPI's boycott threat, the CPI-M postponed the district-level conventions of the LDF.
However, it activated its cadres in all constituencies other than those of the CPI. In Ponnani, the party cadres are active in Randathani's campaign.
As the week drew to a close, the CPI district committees were busy drawing up lists of candidates for all the seats. The party's ministers were said to be clearing pending files in preparation for vacation of office.
The CPI-M considers these moves part of the CPI's pressure tactics. It expects the CPI to remain in the LDF as there is no viable alternative before it. Under the seat sharing arrangement worked out by the UDF, the Congress is to contest 17 seats, the Muslim League two and the Kerala Congress (Mani) one.
The Congress has not finalised its candidates so far. With a large number of aspirants in the field, the task is by no means easy.
Some observers believe the party is wilfully delaying the selection process, going on in New Delhi, to know the outcome of the rift in the LDF.
The Congress has already enlisted the support of AK Abdullakutty, Kannur MP, whom the CPI-M recently expelled.
It is also reportedly considering giving him the party ticket to contest from Kannur or Kasargode.
Two factors threaten to scuttle middlemen's efforts to find an amicable solution to the problems in the LDF. One is Husain Randathani's refusal to withdraw from the contest and the CPI-M's reluctance to forsake him. The other is Mahdani's threat to put up candidates in all constituencies where the CPI contests if it does not accept Randathani in Ponnani.
Gulf Today
With the two Communist parties engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation, the Left Democratic Front, which rules Kerala, is caught in the worst crisis in the three decades of its existence.
Realising that the front's future is at stake, the national leadership of the two parties have urged the state units to resolve the differences amicably. Mediators are working on a face-saving formula.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which heads the front, and the Communist Party of India (CPI), the second largest partner, fell out on the issue of a common candidate to challenge the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in the Ponnani constituency, which it has always won.
Trouble began when the CPI-M, at the instance of People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Abdul Naser Mahdani, who has offered support to the LDF, sponsored Husain Randathani, a college principal, as an Independent candidate for Ponnani.
The CPI refused to endorse Randathani as giving Ponnani to him will reduce its share of seats from four to three.
It proposed AP Kunhamu, who was associated with a pro-CPI bank employees union, as the LDF-backed independent.
CPI-M blackballed Kunhamu, saying he is close to the National Development Front NDF), which it considers an extremist outfit.
However, on Sunday, Randathani, apparently at the CPI-M's behest, made an attempt to win the CPI's favour.
Matters came to a head when CPI state secretary Veliyam Bhargavan, after heated exchanges with CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, walked out of the LDF meeting which was to have finalised division of seats.
At a press conference, he announced that the CPI would put up candidates for all CPI-M seats if the LDF did not accept its candidate in Ponnani.
He also said the party would stay away from the LDF's district conventions scheduled for the weekend.
Pinarayi Vijayan sought to mollify the CPI by offering to protect its share of four seats. However, he did not withdraw his party's support to Randathani, who has already started campaigning.
Vijayan reminded Bhargavan that when the CPI fought alone last time most of its candidates had forfeited their security deposits.
When the LDF began talks on seat division, the Revolutionary Socialist Party demanded that the Kollam seat, which the CPI-M had taken from it in the last elections, be returned.
It threatened to pull out NK Premachandran, its nominee in the state cabinet, if its claim was overlooked.
The CPI-M ignored the threat. The RSP decided to swallow its words and remain in the government.
The CPI-M asked the Janata Dal (S) to return the Kozhikode seat, which its leader, MP Veerendrakumar, had successfully contested in the last two elections, and take Wayanad instead.
Since the LDF does not seem to have a winning chance in Waynad, the JD (S) turned down the suggestion.
It said it was ready to give up its cabinet berth and all other posts held by it as a member of the alliance if it was denied the Kozhikode seat.
Taking into account the CPI's boycott threat, the CPI-M postponed the district-level conventions of the LDF.
However, it activated its cadres in all constituencies other than those of the CPI. In Ponnani, the party cadres are active in Randathani's campaign.
As the week drew to a close, the CPI district committees were busy drawing up lists of candidates for all the seats. The party's ministers were said to be clearing pending files in preparation for vacation of office.
The CPI-M considers these moves part of the CPI's pressure tactics. It expects the CPI to remain in the LDF as there is no viable alternative before it. Under the seat sharing arrangement worked out by the UDF, the Congress is to contest 17 seats, the Muslim League two and the Kerala Congress (Mani) one.
The Congress has not finalised its candidates so far. With a large number of aspirants in the field, the task is by no means easy.
Some observers believe the party is wilfully delaying the selection process, going on in New Delhi, to know the outcome of the rift in the LDF.
The Congress has already enlisted the support of AK Abdullakutty, Kannur MP, whom the CPI-M recently expelled.
It is also reportedly considering giving him the party ticket to contest from Kannur or Kasargode.
Two factors threaten to scuttle middlemen's efforts to find an amicable solution to the problems in the LDF. One is Husain Randathani's refusal to withdraw from the contest and the CPI-M's reluctance to forsake him. The other is Mahdani's threat to put up candidates in all constituencies where the CPI contests if it does not accept Randathani in Ponnani.
Monday, February 9, 2009
CPI-M national leadership faces its severest test in Kerala
BRP BHASKAR
With faction leaders in Kerala fighting like Kilkenny cats, the Politburo of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which meets in New Delhi this weekend, faces the severest test in its history.
The main item on its agenda is the Lavalin case, which relates to alleged corruption in a deal the State Electricity Board struck with the Canadian company SNC Lavalin when Pinarayi Vijayan was Electricity Minister. The Central Bureau of Investigation, which investigated the case, has named Vijayan, who is now the party's state secretary, as one of the accused.
This is the first time that a CPI-M Politburo member has figured in a corruption case.
The CBI decision to indict him came as he was preparing to lead a New Kerala march through the state's 140 Assembly constituencies to galvanise the party in advance of the Lok Sabha elections, expected in April.
As soon as the news broke, State Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who is also a member of the Politburo, charged the Central agency with implicating Vijayan in the case as reprisal for withdrawal of party support to the central government.
The next day the party's state committee adopted a resolution alleging the move to prosecute the party secretary was politically motivated. The central leadership quickly endorsed the charge.
Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan, who is the seniormost Politburo member from the state, flew to New Delhi apparently to make known to the national leadership his reservation in the matter.
As other party leaders railed against the CBI, Achuthanandan maintained silence, inviting criticism from the opposition and taunts from his own colleagues. When he broke his silence, he distanced himself from the party line and asserted he would only act in a manner consistent with the constitutional position that he holds.
Both Vijayan and Achuthanandan have made public statements which suggest that sectarianism in the party has reached the breaking point.
When Achuthanandan said he would not join the New Kerala march, Vijayan retorted, "All those who are in the party are in the march".
"A communist cannot be corrupt," Achuthanandan said later, clearly indicating that he wants Pinarayi Vijayan to get his name cleared to be counted as a communist.
The state party leadership believes Achuthanandan has violated party discipline by not accepting the Politburo's stand that the charge against Vijayan is politically motivated. It has sent a complaint to this effect to the central leadership.
Achuthanandan apparently holds the view that the Politburo has not taken a final position in the matter. The party's current position is based on consultations among available Politburo members. He wants a formal decision by the Politburo.
In a bid to distance the central leadership from the sectarian noises emanating from Kerala, general secretary Prakash Karat said on Saturday that the Politburo meeting, scheduled for Februart 14, has not been convened to consider any complaint. The Politburo was meeting since an issue concerning one of its members has arisen, he explained.
On a superficial view, the entire state party leadership stands behind Vijayan, and Achuthanandan is virtually isolated. However, a careful scrutiny of public statements by party leaders will reveal that not all of them are backing Vijayan with equal enthusiasm.
At one end are overzealous leaders who go so far as to suggest that Pinarayi Vijayan is the party, echoing the Emergency slogan "Indira is India". At the other end are circumspect leaders who say just enough to be counted among those who have endorsed the position taken by the leadership.
According to media reports, Achuthanandan wants Pinarayi Vijayan to be replaced as state secretary. This is not a demand that the central leadership can easily accept. With more than 336,000 members, the Kerala party is the largest unit, accounting for about 35 per cent of the CPI-M's countrywide membership. It is also a major source of funds for the party.
In last year's organisational elections, Pinarayi Vijayan tightened his grip on the party. His supporters now control party units and affiuliates at all levels. At the same time, Achuthanandan commands considerable goodwill at the grassroots level within the party and outside it.
The central leadership will have to summon all the tactical skills at its command to resolve the issue to the satisfaction of both the leaders. -- Gulf Today, February 9, 2009.
With faction leaders in Kerala fighting like Kilkenny cats, the Politburo of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which meets in New Delhi this weekend, faces the severest test in its history.
The main item on its agenda is the Lavalin case, which relates to alleged corruption in a deal the State Electricity Board struck with the Canadian company SNC Lavalin when Pinarayi Vijayan was Electricity Minister. The Central Bureau of Investigation, which investigated the case, has named Vijayan, who is now the party's state secretary, as one of the accused.
This is the first time that a CPI-M Politburo member has figured in a corruption case.
The CBI decision to indict him came as he was preparing to lead a New Kerala march through the state's 140 Assembly constituencies to galvanise the party in advance of the Lok Sabha elections, expected in April.
As soon as the news broke, State Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who is also a member of the Politburo, charged the Central agency with implicating Vijayan in the case as reprisal for withdrawal of party support to the central government.
The next day the party's state committee adopted a resolution alleging the move to prosecute the party secretary was politically motivated. The central leadership quickly endorsed the charge.
Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan, who is the seniormost Politburo member from the state, flew to New Delhi apparently to make known to the national leadership his reservation in the matter.
As other party leaders railed against the CBI, Achuthanandan maintained silence, inviting criticism from the opposition and taunts from his own colleagues. When he broke his silence, he distanced himself from the party line and asserted he would only act in a manner consistent with the constitutional position that he holds.
Both Vijayan and Achuthanandan have made public statements which suggest that sectarianism in the party has reached the breaking point.
When Achuthanandan said he would not join the New Kerala march, Vijayan retorted, "All those who are in the party are in the march".
"A communist cannot be corrupt," Achuthanandan said later, clearly indicating that he wants Pinarayi Vijayan to get his name cleared to be counted as a communist.
The state party leadership believes Achuthanandan has violated party discipline by not accepting the Politburo's stand that the charge against Vijayan is politically motivated. It has sent a complaint to this effect to the central leadership.
Achuthanandan apparently holds the view that the Politburo has not taken a final position in the matter. The party's current position is based on consultations among available Politburo members. He wants a formal decision by the Politburo.
In a bid to distance the central leadership from the sectarian noises emanating from Kerala, general secretary Prakash Karat said on Saturday that the Politburo meeting, scheduled for Februart 14, has not been convened to consider any complaint. The Politburo was meeting since an issue concerning one of its members has arisen, he explained.
On a superficial view, the entire state party leadership stands behind Vijayan, and Achuthanandan is virtually isolated. However, a careful scrutiny of public statements by party leaders will reveal that not all of them are backing Vijayan with equal enthusiasm.
At one end are overzealous leaders who go so far as to suggest that Pinarayi Vijayan is the party, echoing the Emergency slogan "Indira is India". At the other end are circumspect leaders who say just enough to be counted among those who have endorsed the position taken by the leadership.
According to media reports, Achuthanandan wants Pinarayi Vijayan to be replaced as state secretary. This is not a demand that the central leadership can easily accept. With more than 336,000 members, the Kerala party is the largest unit, accounting for about 35 per cent of the CPI-M's countrywide membership. It is also a major source of funds for the party.
In last year's organisational elections, Pinarayi Vijayan tightened his grip on the party. His supporters now control party units and affiuliates at all levels. At the same time, Achuthanandan commands considerable goodwill at the grassroots level within the party and outside it.
The central leadership will have to summon all the tactical skills at its command to resolve the issue to the satisfaction of both the leaders. -- Gulf Today, February 9, 2009.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Is Abdulla Kutty paying the price for being earnest?
BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today
TWO weeks ago after the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) suspended AP Abdulla Kutty the young member of parliament is far from contrite. All indications are that he plans to plod a lonely furrow.
Abdulla Kutty, who has held the Lok Sabha seat from Kannur since 1999, was suspended after he commended Gujarat's Bharatiya Janata Party chief minister Narendra Modi as a model of developmental leadership.
He first endorsed Modi while on a visit to Dubai last month.
Responding to questions on his return home, he reiterated his appreciation of Modi's developmental efforts.
His statements embarrassed the party as Narendra Modi was the man at the helm during the anti-muslim riots in Gujarat.
Earlier, he had irked the party leaders by opposing "bandh" (forced work stoppage) as a form of agitation. They were also probably unhappy with his overt religious pursuits.
When the CPI-M area committee sought an explanation, he defended his statements, saying he endorsed only Modi's development policies, not his communal policies. Not satisfied with the explanation, the suspended him from membership for one year.
In the CPI-M's penal code, a year's suspension is the second highest punishment, the first being expulsion. Every form of punishment is conceived as an opportunity to the member to admit his mistake and mend his ways.
Abdulla Kutty's suspension rules out the CPI-M nominating him to contest the Lok Sabha election due in the next few months.
There has been speculation that the party was planning to drop him anyway.
His statements since the suspension suggest that he is preparing to leave the CPI-M. There has been speculation in the media about his joining the Congress. The BJP's state leadership has extended him an open invitation.
From what he has said and done no firm conclusion can be drawn about his willingness to enter the Lok Sabha elections as the candidate of any other party.
Last week, speaking at a function organised by an affiliate of the Indian Union Muslim League, he said when the Congress weakened communal forces had gained ground in the country and when the League weakened extremists had gained strength in the muslim community.
He also revealed that he was seeking enrolment in the territorial army, an outfit which enables civilians to get military training in peacetime and do active service in wartime.
Kannur, first represented in the Lok Sabha by Marxist veteran AK Gopalan, was known as a Communist fortress. After his time, Mullappalli Ramachandran, a young Congress leader, captured it and held it for 14 long years. The constituency has a large number of Muslim voters, and the Congress party's alliance with the league played a part in Ramachandran's successive wins. In 1991, the CPI-M, looking for a candidate who can make inroads into the muslim vote bank, picked Abdulla Kutty.
He was only 31 then and had little political experience. The party presented him as a wonder kid, who was born to win.
Abdulla Kutty is from an orthodox agricultural family whose members were Congress sympathisers. Like other young people of his village, he dreamed of migrating to the Gulf region.
After finishing school, on the advice of an older brother, who was working in the Gulf, he joined an industrial training institute to acquire a technical qualification before leaving for the dreamland. At the institute, he became a member of the Students Federation of India, a CPI-M affiliate, and was elected general secretary of the students union. That changed the course of his life.
Later, as a student of the Sree Narayana College, Kannur, he helped the SFI to capture its campus from the pro-Congress Kerala Students Union and went on to become general secretary of the Calicut University Union.
In 1996, as the CPI-M candidate, he won a district panchayat seat, which was previously held by the Congress. The same winning streak helped him to enter the Lok Sabha, ending Mullappalli Ramachandran's unbroken run.
While Abdulla Kutty progressed quickly from campus politics to national politics, within the party he could not go beyond area committee membership.
Like Suresh Kurup, A. Sampath and S. Sivaraman, all of whom became MPs at a young age, he found that upward movement within the organisation is not as easy as getting into the Lok Sabha.
How Abdulla Kutty's departure will affect the CPI-M's electoral prospects in Kannur is a question that remains to be answered. --Gulf Today, January 26, 2009.
Gulf Today
TWO weeks ago after the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) suspended AP Abdulla Kutty the young member of parliament is far from contrite. All indications are that he plans to plod a lonely furrow.
Abdulla Kutty, who has held the Lok Sabha seat from Kannur since 1999, was suspended after he commended Gujarat's Bharatiya Janata Party chief minister Narendra Modi as a model of developmental leadership.
He first endorsed Modi while on a visit to Dubai last month.
Responding to questions on his return home, he reiterated his appreciation of Modi's developmental efforts.
His statements embarrassed the party as Narendra Modi was the man at the helm during the anti-muslim riots in Gujarat.
Earlier, he had irked the party leaders by opposing "bandh" (forced work stoppage) as a form of agitation. They were also probably unhappy with his overt religious pursuits.
When the CPI-M area committee sought an explanation, he defended his statements, saying he endorsed only Modi's development policies, not his communal policies. Not satisfied with the explanation, the suspended him from membership for one year.
In the CPI-M's penal code, a year's suspension is the second highest punishment, the first being expulsion. Every form of punishment is conceived as an opportunity to the member to admit his mistake and mend his ways.
Abdulla Kutty's suspension rules out the CPI-M nominating him to contest the Lok Sabha election due in the next few months.
There has been speculation that the party was planning to drop him anyway.
His statements since the suspension suggest that he is preparing to leave the CPI-M. There has been speculation in the media about his joining the Congress. The BJP's state leadership has extended him an open invitation.
From what he has said and done no firm conclusion can be drawn about his willingness to enter the Lok Sabha elections as the candidate of any other party.
Last week, speaking at a function organised by an affiliate of the Indian Union Muslim League, he said when the Congress weakened communal forces had gained ground in the country and when the League weakened extremists had gained strength in the muslim community.
He also revealed that he was seeking enrolment in the territorial army, an outfit which enables civilians to get military training in peacetime and do active service in wartime.
Kannur, first represented in the Lok Sabha by Marxist veteran AK Gopalan, was known as a Communist fortress. After his time, Mullappalli Ramachandran, a young Congress leader, captured it and held it for 14 long years. The constituency has a large number of Muslim voters, and the Congress party's alliance with the league played a part in Ramachandran's successive wins. In 1991, the CPI-M, looking for a candidate who can make inroads into the muslim vote bank, picked Abdulla Kutty.
He was only 31 then and had little political experience. The party presented him as a wonder kid, who was born to win.
Abdulla Kutty is from an orthodox agricultural family whose members were Congress sympathisers. Like other young people of his village, he dreamed of migrating to the Gulf region.
After finishing school, on the advice of an older brother, who was working in the Gulf, he joined an industrial training institute to acquire a technical qualification before leaving for the dreamland. At the institute, he became a member of the Students Federation of India, a CPI-M affiliate, and was elected general secretary of the students union. That changed the course of his life.
Later, as a student of the Sree Narayana College, Kannur, he helped the SFI to capture its campus from the pro-Congress Kerala Students Union and went on to become general secretary of the Calicut University Union.
In 1996, as the CPI-M candidate, he won a district panchayat seat, which was previously held by the Congress. The same winning streak helped him to enter the Lok Sabha, ending Mullappalli Ramachandran's unbroken run.
While Abdulla Kutty progressed quickly from campus politics to national politics, within the party he could not go beyond area committee membership.
Like Suresh Kurup, A. Sampath and S. Sivaraman, all of whom became MPs at a young age, he found that upward movement within the organisation is not as easy as getting into the Lok Sabha.
How Abdulla Kutty's departure will affect the CPI-M's electoral prospects in Kannur is a question that remains to be answered. --Gulf Today, January 26, 2009.
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