Assembly session from Monday might create history

By O J George

Kottayam: It would be a sight to see the functioning of the 26-day budget session of Kerala Assembly beginning on Monday.

The ruling front has been at its lowest ebb politically after receiving the battering at the hands of the electorate in the Lok Sabha elections.

The front is in a disarray following recriminations between the CPM and the CPI and alienation of the Janata Dal(S). The LDF has got only Mathew T Thomas and Jose Thettayil to stand with it. The other three MLAs owing allegiance to M.P.Veerendrakumar, sitting on the side of the LDF till they are allotted separate seating slots, would hit at the LDF.

Janata Dal (S) national president Deve Gowda has written to the Speaker saying the Janata Dal (S) is with the LDF. Speaker K.Radhakrishnan has clarified that he would listen to the party leadership of Deve Gowda.

The three MLAs, by opposing the LDF, would invite the wrath of the party leadership, following which disciplinary action would be taken against them. That would seal the division of the party into two.

The CPM by itself is a divided house. A majority of the CPM ministers have opposed Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan. No amount of denial would function as a cover-up.

The CPM has gone against Governor R.S.Gavai stock, lock and barrel. It seems the central leadership was not keen on attacking the Governor. That way Pinarayi Vijayan group suffered a setback.

No one is publicly saying, but there are reports by the grapevine, about the role of the son of a former general secretary of the CPM as a via media between Lavalin and the-then LDF government which executed the deal. Is that why the Pinarayi group is so confident of saying that he had not received the spoils of the deal?

Lavalin issue, attack against the Governor, Janata Dal (S) disunity, debacle in the Lok Sabha election, collective responsibility of the Cabinet gone astray, hanky-panky in the Vizhinjam harbour project, Smart City project going to the dogs, and any number of issues are there for the Opposition to bang the government with any day.

Nair Service Society having gone against Congress, K V Thomas, Shashi Tharoor etc is small mercy for the trapped LDF for the time being.

Anyway the CPM politburo is having a special sitting in the first week of July to iron out the problems in the Kerala unit and the government. To what extent the solution would help the party, the front and the government is yet to be seen.

The day party leaders met Baselius Catholica Bava with an olive branch, the Left dominated Calicut University refused to give permission for the medical institutions of the church. Which means no amount of tinkering with the issue would actually bring about positive results. There should be unambiguous deals to satisfy the church, the party and the government.

Party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has asserted that no one need write off the LDF and the CPM. That is true. In Kerala the party is a force to reckon with, provided it does not alienate itself from various sections of the people.

Mind you, the deciders are not party cadres but the silent millions who carefully watch the functioning of the government, the Opposition and all others concerned. They have no choice other than hitting against the ruling dispensation.

Did NSS gain much by indulging in a slanging match against Shashi Tharoor, K V Thomas, Vayalar Ravi etc? Only time will tell the results.

Shashi Tharoor was one person who fought against big powers as India’s candidate for UN Secretary-Generalship. He was opposed by the US, favouring Ban ki Moon of South Korea. He had to leave his job at the UN. I believe he did not qualify for a pension either.

K.V.Thomas should have been simply ignored without much fuss. This way NSS would not be able to fetch much for Ramesh Chennithala.

Assembly proceedings are the fuel which kindle the people’s curiosity. These are also the fora for various political persuasions to drive their points home to the people.