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In Delhi with his entire Cabinet and LDF MLAs and MPs to protest against the Centre over its fiscal policy towards states, Kerala Chief Minister and CPI(M) Politburo member talks about why his government was forced to take this step and why he sees no contradictions in the Left’s alliance with the Congress in INDIA. Excerpts from an email interview:
* The Left has always been on the warpath against the Union government and BJP. But this time the state’s entire ruling apparatus led by you was in Delhi to protest. You have also moved the Supreme Court against ‘discrimination’ by the Centre.
We are not on any warpath, we have cooperated effectively on various developmental projects and welfare schemes. At the same time, we have some serious concerns about the discrimination and injustice being meted out to Kerala, especially with regard to our finances.
It is not just Kerala, all Opposition-ruled states are facing such trouble. Ours is probably the severest. We have raised them (the issues) through various means, but they have fallen on deaf ears. That is why we had to approach the Supreme Court and why the state’s entire Cabinet, along with MPs and MLAs, had to protest in Delhi. That’s a first in the history of the Indian Republic…
We are discriminated against during disasters, in budgets, in transfer of funds, in the administration of projects and schemes, with regard to railway development… in calculating public debt and so on.
* There is a criticism that your protest was political and the real intention was to divert the attention of the people from the mishandling of the state economy by your government?
If that was the case, why did the government of Karnataka also protest? Why is it that several states have approached the Supreme Court on issues related to their finances and administration?
We have come out in protest after trying everything else. We wrote to the Union… the FM was briefed in person. The PM was notified officially. Despite trying for more than a year… the Union has not responded favourably.
… Despite the Union strangling us, we have achieved remarkable growth. Kerala’s total expenditure has risen from Rs 1,31,884 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 1,58,738 crore in 2022-23. By the end of this year, it is poised to rise to Rs 1,68,407 crore. Our own revenue has grown from Rs 58,341 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 71,968 crore in 2022-23 and, by this year end, it will increase to Rs 78,000 crore. Does this look like mishandling?
* Though the LDF and UDF are both part of the INDIA alliance at the national level, the Congress did not participate in your government’s protest.
The state leadership of the Congress should answer this question, as to why they are not standing with the people of Kerala on such an important issue… In a similar situation in the past… when the UDF was in office, the Leader of the Opposition from the LDF… accompanied the then Chief Minister to meet the Prime Minister (of the BJP)… to demand that the state get what is rightfully ours…
However, the present Opposition in Kerala is not interested in standing for the state… They are whitewashing the policies of the Union (government). Maybe because they too have a history of eating into states’ constitutional rights and financial shares.
* Do you think the people will accept your proposition of fighting the Congress in Kerala and aligning with them elsewhere, especially in West Bengal?
During UPA I, we had provided outside support to the government on the basis of a Common Minimum Programme. We have always stood for the interest of the country. In the all-India scenario, the Sangh Parivar and its political wing BJP are furthering their communal agenda without addressing the issues of people’s lives and livelihoods. They are anti-Constitution, in the sense that they are trying to weaken all its values, especially secularism and federalism, and thereby ultimately our democracy. So, they have to be defeated. Accordingly democratic and secular parties have to come together… The people are well aware of this situation.
* Federalism is one common concern of Opposition parties. Given your long administrative experience, how do you view the Centre-state relations under Narendra Modi?
Those who wax eloquent about cooperative federalism (the BJP) have tried to undercut the devolution of funds to states by influencing the Finance Commission (FC). The Terms of Reference of FCs are determined by the Union government. States’ opinions and suggestions are not taken into account.
At the same time, we are seeing the Union government amassing funds by hiking cess and surcharge which are not shared with the states as they do not fall in the divisible pool. Yet, the Union government’s allocation for its own schemes is coming down year after year, with states forced to shell out more from their cash-strapped pockets. Even in the interim budget that was presented a few days back, the states were further squeezed as loans given for capital expenditure were reduced.
The Union government has made laws that encroach upon states’ powers and duties in several sectors, even on law and order, which falls in the States’ List… Multinational agreements are being entered into, on issues that affect states, without seeking their opinion.
During Congress governments too, states’ rights were trampled upon. However, today, it has reached unprecedented proportions. Essentially we should have a strong Union and empowered states. Kerala is doing its fair share in making the Union strong by contributing massively by way of bringing in much-needed foreign exchange… The NRKs (Non-Resident Keralites) too fetch foreign exchange. Despite our contributions… we are being discriminated against.
* BJP leaders always speak about the rampant use of Article 356, including against the first Left government in Kerala, led by E M S Namboodiripad. Compared to that, do you see the Modi regime as more considerate?
Subsequent to the Supreme Court’s verdict in the S R Bommai vs Union of India, it is not that easy to invoke Article 356. However, the current ruling dispensation does not have to use Article 356. They are able to topple elected state governments through horse-trading… Is altering the people’s verdict by hook or crook the definition of being considerate?
They abrogated Article 370. They make governors dance to their tune in Opposition-ruled states. Today, governors are even questioning the autonomy of the Legislature by indefinitely delaying assent to Bills.
* However, some of your rivals allege an understanding between you and the Centre, as it is not coming down on your government and leaders, unlike in other states?
We are one of the most vocal state governments against the Union government’s discrimination, injustice and communal politics. Would (this) be possible if there was any understanding with them? They are using central agencies to destabilise our developmental and welfare initiatives… Our leaders are being hounded as well. Still, they are not able to get anything on us.
* Your daughter is facing serious charges, and the Union government’s agencies have started looking into them. The PM himself accused your office of corruption.
All through, there have been a slew of allegations against leaders of the Left. Not a single one has come true, because we in the Left are incorruptible… The PM has all the central agencies at his beck and call. Despite the veiled insinuations, his agencies are not able to find anything concrete.
* Many see 2024 as a foregone conclusion given the Opposition’s failure to match the BJP in coherence and direction.
The issues of people’s lives and livelihoods are still to be addressed. As long as that is the case, we will continue the fight and the people will rally behind (us). I already mentioned the threat the BJP is causing to our country and its constitutional values… Even in the elections in which the BJP has come to power, the majority of the votes have been against the BJP. The important issue is to consolidate them.
* How do you see the Left nationally, given the way it is shrinking? Besides, unlike your predecessors, you remain focused on state politics. Should the Left project you as a national choice?
Even though our representation in Parliament has dwindled, the Left is active on the streets. On the CAA, farm laws and so on, we have been in the lead… The issues are not personal, they are political; so the solutions will also have to be political. It is not a matter of promoting any particular person.
* Earlier, the Kerala CPI(M) was seen as opposed to relations with the Congress, compared to its Bengal leaders. Have you reached a stage where it is no longer a contentious issue?
Such an allegation is baseless. The party has a clear stand on this, it is based on a unanimous decision. As I already mentioned, the real objective is to defeat the Sangh Parivar and BJP.
* The BJP, led by PM Modi himself, is trying to breach the Kerala fort. They feel that the Ayodhya Ram Temple consecration as well as a rethink towards it by the Christian masses will help it reach its goal.
They are yet to fully understand the people and society of Kerala and our unwavering commitment to secularism. The people are well aware of their ultimate game plan. That is why they defeated the lone MLA that the BJP was able to elect in previous elections.
* How do you see your government’s relations with Governor Arif Mohammed Khan? Have they reached a point of no return?
The issue is not isolated to Kerala. It is a larger issue that affects the whole country, especially its federal character. We cannot allow the Indian democracy which was envisaged as a ‘Union of States’ to be crippled into an undemocratic ‘Union over States’.
