By-election in the post-truth era
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A late-night raid conducted by the police at a hotel in Palakkad, where political leaders were staying during the by-elections, has sparked a major controversy. The raid, ostensibly to seize unaccounted money, has been widely condemned as a blatant violation of the model code of conduct. The hours-long search of the rooms of Congress' women leaders Shanimoll Usman and Bindhu Krishna, conducted without adequate female police presence, ended in embarrassment for the Kerala police, who finally had to give a written statement that no money was found.
The question of who ordered this farcical midnight drama has led to contradictory statements from authorities and Left leaders. While ASP Ashwathy Jiji, who led the raid, claimed it was a routine election-time inspection, the district collector and SP cited confidential information as the reason. It's worth noting that the chief electoral officer's oversight is mandatory for such searches, and the election officials arrived at the scene quite late. The police search is patently illegal. The police, who showed unnecessary haste in conducting the raid, were reluctant to investigate the facts about the bag or file a case. This begs the question: at whose behest did the police conduct this unjust hunt? The Chief Minister, who heads the Home Department, owes an explanation. However, given the recent experiences with the current government, one cannot expect such a democratic explanation or legal transparency. This incident exposes the deep-rooted corruption within the government and the police apparatus.
The CPM and its leaders are in a tight spot due to the controversy surrounding the midnight raid and a suspicious bag. Although the party initially claimed it was a routine inspection, they later corrected it was based on prior information. The evidence was presented by citing the CCTV footage of a blue trolley bag brought by Youth Congress leader Feni Nainan. The Left candidate P. Sarin alleged that the conspiracy behind this drama involves Shafi Parambil and the Congress. While Minister M.B. Rajesh and the district leadership reiterate that the Congress brought in black money and that an investigation is necessary, state committee member N.N. Krishnadas insists this should not be a campaign issue.
The Congress is gearing up to drive home before the people that the incident in the hotel is a continuation of the CPM-BJP deal to whitewash the Kodakara money laundering case. Black money flow during elections is common to win votes, boost campaigns, appease workers and sympathizers, and elevate the financial standing of leaders. The Kodakara case involved black money that had also gone to the BJP’s election fund. Those involved in seizing this money included major and minor leaders, as revealed by Dharmajan and Thiroor Satheesan, the former secretary of the BJP Thrissur district office, both involved in the case. The exposure of the contents of the report submitted by ACP S.V. Raju, who headed the special police team investigating the Kodakara case, to the Enforcement Directorate have put the BJP in further trouble.
Even though it's been clearly revealed where, to whom, and how the money was delivered in this highly significant case, why does it continue to lie dormant in the Chalakudy Munsiff Court? Whose interests are being protected by this delay? The contradictions evident here are a continuation of the Left's inconsistent approach to confronting Hindu nationalist politics, both legally and politically. The Chief Minister's speech and Facebook post against Priyanka Gandhi reveal a loss of ideological and practical vigilance on the part of the Left not to pave the way for the Sangh Parivar's to rise to power, even while engaging in a battle with the Congress. The CPM may be able to gain temporary benefits by adopting Hindutva rationale. However, as the history of Bengal and Tripura attests, the CPM's experiments with Hindu nationalist politics will merely extinguish its remaining embers. Whoever resorts to post-truth election tactics in Palakkad, by cutting and pasting facts and mixing them with rumours to deceive voters, will bring disaster to themselves.