The journalist’s caravan moves on

The article says,“E. K. Nayanar is one of the worst Chief Ministers in India, a poor administrator, and an absolute disaster when it comes to public relations”. If it had appeared in The Organiser, I would have ignored it. Since it has appeared in the Express, a national daily of repute, I cannot but take cognisance of it.

It is unbecoming of a journalist of Shenoy’s stature to voice the fantasies and abusive tirade of the common RSS worker. Tomorrow, the state of Kerala will turn saffron, or so goes the fantasy of the sword bearers of the RSS, who dream each day that the Communists are on their way out.

Shenoy crosses the limits of decorum, ethics and fairness when he uses very abusive words to depict a leader whom the people of Kerala have elected to the post of chief minister with a massive majority. It only betrays the contempt with which he treats the people of the state.

On the one hand, he tries to create an impression that the LDF is in a shambles. On the other, he states that certain parties are keen to get into the LDF fold. How can both propositions be possible? In one part of the article, he maintains that the LDF is in for a massive defeat at the polls, in another part of the article he states that the Congress (I) in Kerala is going to find itself sinking in next year’s assembly elections. Isn’t this a contradiction?

Shenoy takes pains to argue that the CPI(M) is worried about the growing strength of the RSS in Kerala. Where were these RSS men during the election in which E.K. Nayanar won by a majority of 25,000 votes? The article is primarily meant to malign a towering personality. He tries to depict E.K. Nayanar as a “poor administrator” unmindful of the fact that it was Nayanar who presided over Kerala’s progress by making the common citizen participate in the state’s development through the unique programme of people’s planning.

Amartya Sen has acclaimed the Kerala model of development. Digvijay Singh, the CM of Madhya Pradesh, was very impressed with the results of such an initiative. Shenoy should at least be aware of the fact that Kerala is the only state which has implemented the doctrine of decentralization in its true spirit, with 30 to 40 per cent of the total plan outlay being passed on to the lower levels of administration. At the same time, Nayanar is preparing the ground for the smooth take off of all-round development, including that of information technology.

There has never been a single incident of communal violence in any part of Kerala in the four years of Nayanar’s administration and Shenoy should know that. During the UDF rule, the state experienced a series of communal riots and more than 40 people lost their lives as a result. Besides, there has not been a single instance of death in judicial custody. Police torture has almost become a story of the past. Yet Shenoy calls Nayanar a bad administrator.

Is it this scenario that prevails in states ruled by the BJP? Shenoy is used to such situations and must imagine that administration must translate into chaos and confusion. Shenoy also finds Nayanar an absolute disaster when it comes to public relations. He should be that Nayanar is not someone who can be manipulated by those mediamen who seek reciprocal favours. Having lived in Delhi for many years, Shenoy seems to have got used to politicians who survive only by manipulating the media. They have no real mass base, while Nayanar does.

Today, the BJP is calling for a grand alliance to defeat the `Communists’. Overnight, the Congress has become its reliable ally for the sole purpose of defeating the LDF. Does Shenoy find this alliance of political convenience a prudent application of the saffron ideology? Is it not cheating the people?It appears that Shenoy has lost all sense of balance after seeing the erosion in the rank-and-file of the Congress and BJP. The fact is that more and more sections of people are supporting the LDF because of the progressive and corruption-free administration of the Kerala government. He knows this. Yet, it seems he is duty bound. So that his caravan moves on.

The writer is press secretary to Kerala Chief Minister E.K. Nayanar