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Journalism of Courage
Kerala has had a long history of working with stable coalitions in government. While the two sides, the United Democratic Front and the Left Democratic Front, have seen partners come and go and while these partners have often quarrelled with each other, the internal discipline within the dominant party in each coalition 8212; the Congress in the UDF and the CPM in the LDF 8212; has helped ensure political stability.
This may now be history given the manner in which both the CPM and the Congress are riven with internal factionalism. If it8217;s the wily old fox, K. Karunakaran, versus the plodder A.K. Antony in the Congress, it has been the E.K. Nayanar and now V.S. Achutanandan versus his detractors in the CPM.
On the other side, of the political divide, one faction within the CPM is busy hurling the favourite left abuse against another, dubbing one of its own a 8220;CIA agent8221;! The target of attack, one of the architects of Kerala8217;s 8220;peoples8217; plan8221;, T.M. Thomas Isaac.
Formerly an economist from the prestigious research institute, the Centre for Development Studies, and now a member of the state assembly, Isaac is being charged with writing joint research papers with 8220;foreign scholars8221; and of being associated with foreign funded non-governmental organisation.
Shades of Murli Manohar Joshi in the CPM? No less a radical scholar than Noam Chomsky has come to Isaac8217;s rescue, admonishing Kerala8217;s marxists for their xenophobia! Hopefully, the CPM8217;s rank and file will appreciate the dangers of calling ideological detractors names, for what you do unto others, they can do to you.
If the Congress party8217;s national leadership has to step in to rein in Antony8217;s detractors, the CPM8217;s national leadership must step in to rein in Isaac8217;s. Kerala can do with a few more like Antony and Isaac.
