Do not let down the people of Kerala

The CPIM, the largest of the communist parties in India, is being shaken by the corruption charges brought about by the party’s state committee member P Jayarajan against its Central Committee member and LDF convenor E P Jayarajan. Rather than choosing to deny it, the party’s highest committee politburo is discussing it. P Jayarajan told the party state committee that EP Jayarajan in his capacity as the industry minister during the first tenure of Pinarayi Vijayan administration had acquired illegal property, thus established a resort and ayuruveda village at a cost of Rs 30 crore in Vellakeel in Kannur district. He further pointed out that EP Jayarajan’s wife Indira and Son Jayson are directors of the venture. The fact that the party leadership, especially its helmsman Pinarayi, chose not to utter a word makes people all the more suspicious. The revelations, undoubtedly and simultaneously, point to internal disunity in the CPM and tarnishes the image of LDF government. EP Jayarajan reportedly offered to step down as the Left Front convener. The quarrel between leaders in the party’s stronghold of Kannnur is rumoured to be too intense for the party's state secretary M.V Govindan to contain.

Even if Pinarayi Vijayan and M.V. Govindan were able to stop the situation from worsening, how long will they be able to do it! Another question is to what extent their effort will help the government recover its lost image. The Left Front government’s return to power with a huge majority, going against the precedent in Kerala, is considered to be an unprecedented achievement for him and his party. This created a confidence in both the party and the people that the second term would lead to stable and sustainable development.

There is no denying that the performance of Pinarayi’s new team, formed after replacing veterans from the first tenure, in the one and a half years, has let down people. While the state is facing a severe financial crisis, the government has not been able to control its expenditure or prevent party leaders and party workers getting appointed in government and semi-government institutions. It has dawned on people that corruption and nepotism are not unique to bourgeois parties.

If the Vizhinjam strike exposed its subservience to corporates, the anti-K-rail strike has made the future of the government's dream project a question mark. Crores of rupees that have already been shelled out for it are getting wasted. People's welfare schemes started with great fanfare are suffering from lack of funds. The administration of the universities remains in limbo after the cold war with the state governor has escalated into an open war. The education sector is in stagnation with the universities having failed to enroll sufficient students in undergraduate and post graduate courses. It is true that the central government of the Hindutva Party is not at all sympathetic towards the state. But the state government’s strategy to take on it with the cooperation of the people is not successful either. It seems the government is finding solace in the disunity of the opposition UDF. The leftist government is the only of all the 29 states that are under the control of the right-wing and extreme right-wing parties. The left front government is expected to regain its image, thus giving hope to secular democrats across the country. Corrective measures should happen accordingly.