Not left; neither democracy nor a front
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Once again, Kerala is recalling the Left Democratic Front (LDF) poll campaign that everything will be fine if it omes to power again. Everything is fine, but it is for th right wing forces: first in the Home Department and now in the Education Department, things are getting fixed for the right wing. The ‘P.M. Shri’ (Prime Ministers's Schools for Rising India) saffronization project in education is not limited to the education sector. The communal atmosphere that paved the way for genocide in Gujarat and elsewhere was also the result of the campus saffronization that started a generation ago. The minister’s hope that even if he signs the PM Shri, the state itself will decide the curriculum content is an utterly hollow verbiage. Legal experts point out that Kerala will be obliged to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) not only in the schools included in the PM Shri project, but also in the entire state. The anti-Left, anti-federalist, and anti-democratic interests in signing the plan are as serious as the harm it will cause. The scenario is this: the party, the front, the cabinet, and the ranks all declare their stance against the National Education Policy; they point out the injustice and illegality of not providing funds in many ways; based on the findings of the Prabhat Patnaik Committee, which studied this injustice and prepared a report, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal support the courageous stand taken by Kerala. The state government prepares for what could be a landmark legal battle; on the advice of the Advocate General, it decides to file a petition in the Supreme Court; the officials go to Delhi and hold initial discussions with a senior lawyer.
Then just before the petition is submitted to the court, everything changes suddenly. The Chief Secretary orders the officials to return. The policy itself changes without the front’s knowledge, without the cabinet knowing about it, without the party secretariat, the party's national leadership or its constituent parties' being informed of it. The political stance of the front and the government changes all of a sudden. A state official signs the MoU following the Chief Minister's visit to Delhi. Whose decision is it to sell for a pittance the education sector by deceiving the people who voted, and the front formed on the basis of a stance? Even if the issue is resolved within the front, the obvious undemocratic nature of this cannot be hidden. The issue was deferred even when it came up for discussion in the cabinet twice, citing that there was a policy decision to be made. But what happened next is a signing that no one knows about. After signing, that too is hidden. If the front is the property of a party and the party is the property of some individual, all this can be understood.If the LDF is something that is not left, democratic or even a front, then this is the way things will move. It is up to the constituent parties to clarify this. For this is not just a matter of an MOU. It is also a matter of the trust that the people have reposed in them. A secret signature deceived everyone; weakened the anti-fascist camp; betrayed the broader life-and-death struggle for federalism that included Tamil Nadu and West Bengal; and the state education department made itself largely irrelevant by leaving even a subject in the concurrent list to the unilateral interest of the Union government. While the front has betrayed the people's trust, its leaders have questions to answer.
What was the real compulsion behind compromising with the Union government, holding the state's interest and front’s policy hostage? What helplessness is behind this change in policy that would lead to a sudden withdrawal even from the legal battle? Why did the Left front leaders remain silent when indications of Pinarayi Vijayan's helplessness emerged repeatedly through the Home Department? What is the stance of the ruling party leaders on the surrender that has now been made in the name of economic blackmail? What is the stance of the cultural leaders who used to sing praises of the ruling party? The CPM, which ruled Bengal for 34 consecutive years, suffered a miserable defeat when it betrayed the trust of the people in Singur and Nandigram and surrendered before the clutches of corporate capitalism. It confronted the popular protests against this with the help of the police and the party cadre. Then the people abandoned it; the party's allies also deserted. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya's "development" argument ran counter to the people. So is the Pinarayi government's "fund availability" argument. The party secretary has already openly stated that implementing Left policies is not the government's job. So what should we call the "Left" front now?
