Opinion In Kerala,there’s no Opposition
As the Congress-led UDF govt completed two years in office,what Kerala missed in period was intervention of CPM
As the Congress-led United Democratic Front government completed its two years in office last week,what Kerala missed in the period was the intervention of the CPM as a functioning opposition. The party,which has been known to take on Congress governments effectively in the past,finds itself caught in the never-ending feud between state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and his rival V S Achuthanandan.
The CPM,it appears,is not interested in pressing public issues,corruption in the government or an approaching general election. Meeting after meeting,the state unit of the party is working on strategies to rein in Achuthanandan,who leaves no chance to flex muscles against Vijayan and team.
Usually,it is the factionalism within a ruling party that comes to front burner. In the last government,Vijayan-Achuthanandan played their conflicting interests to the hilt. Prior to that during the Congress regime of 2001-06,the fight was between K Karunakaran and A K Antony.
This time,despite being in the opposition,the CPM finds little time to perform as one when the tally of 73-67 in the state Assembly is enough to keep the ruling front on the toe. In the last two years,the CPM has not taken any of its agitations to a logical end. The land stir launched earlier this year,to regain the lost ground among the working class,had to be abandoned midway with little gain.
Although influential NRIs are reportedly involved in several misdeeds vis-à-vis their businesses in Kerala,the CPM did not bother to look at the issues. While in power,the CPM had not raised even a token protest against the encroachment of government land by IUML leader and NRI businessman P V Abdul Vahab in Kozhikode,despite an official report to take back the land. Last year,when the Congress government decided to hand over the Halcyon Castle,known as Kovalam palace in Thiruvananthapuram,to NRI businessman Ravi Pillai,the CPM was again silent. Several quarters had demanded that it should be protected as a heritage monument. Achuthanandans was the lone voice of protest.
The CPMs silence seems more intriguing when the Congress government can be accused of demonstrating its accountability to community organisations than to common public be it selection of ministers,critical appointments or policy matters.
Shaju is a senior correspondent based in Thiruvananthapuram
shaju.philip@expressindia.com
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