Dislodging VS as CM failed, solution found more problematic

By O.J.George
Kottayam: Pinarayi roared, Isaac and company bleated: “ Remove VS from Chief Ministership.”

Pinarayi faction has been placing stories, there would be a solution once and for all. Even today, M A Baby commented after conclusion of the central committee meeting, all problems have been solved.

They are sadly mistaken. An Achuthanandan who has been punished and who continue to be the Chief Minister would be a worse threat to their ideological stance.

Had VS been removed from Chief Ministership, Pinarayi faction would have utilised the administration to its utmost.

True, Achuthanandan has been trapped and cornered with regard to very many issues. His hands were tied by the party state secretariat and state committee where the Pinarayi group has brute majority.

For some time, VS has not been invited to crucial functions of the party. The most important one was the birth centenary celebrations of EMS Namboodiripad. Every other Tom,Dock and Harry participated in various sessions of the celebrations.

When VS used to visit districts for attending government functions or otherwise, no one from the party met him at guest houses or other places where he stayed. He was being isolated using the brute force of the party apparatus.

VS was silently suffering all these humiliations. What do others want him? He should toe their line on Lavalin. But he had made his point clear on all occasions. He would not fall in line. Even today he is not prepared to do so.

Suffering the slings and arrows from the party, it seems, he would continue to function as the Chief Minister and take positions which would be problematic for the rival group.

But then, Pinarayi Vijayan knows it for a fact. Once he is out of the post of party secretary, the acolytes would leave him and stand by the new incumbent. For him also, this was a do or die issue.

For VS, simply leaving the party would not offer him the opportunities to cleverly make moves that would be against the interests of entities which have become clear.

True, all these theatrical performances would not benefit the people at all. But they have no choice now. They would react at the opportune moment.

V S Achuthanandan being eased out?

By O.J.George
Kottayam: Now it is clear. Action is sure against Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan. The politburo of the party which met before the central committee has come to the conclusion that VS has been consistently flouting party discipline. The PB found him severely guilty.

On the other hand, state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has got soft treatment. Pinarayi was found lacking in leading the party unitedly. His stance immediately preceding the Lok Sabha elections was erroneous.

But the politburo was not amenable to amending its position regarding Lavalin issue. It is on this question that V S Achuthanandan may find it impossible to continue as Chief Minister even if the party saves him the post.

The party may demote him from the politburo to the central committee and allow him to continue as Chief Minister.

But can he retract all he had said and stood for regarding Lavalin when the central leadership is opposed to his view?

Last time, he was reported to have told general secretary Prakash Karat that he would not change his stance on Lavalin even if the party decides the worst possible decision.

V S Achuthanandan who can claim his seniority next only to E.M.S.Namboodiripad is being eased out.

Even if he is not removed from Chief Ministership, circumstances are such that he won’t find it tolerable to continue on ideological grounds.

Meaningful meeting with Gowri Amma

By O.J.George

Kottayam: After 15 years, V.S.Achuthanandan went to K.R.Gowri Amma, of course to greet her when she turned 90.

But the gesture was quite significant, even though Achuthanandan did not make any controversial mention.

But reading between the lines, there was something etched in his speech. After he hailed the contributions of Gowri Amma as a minister in various stints of LDF government, he referred to her functioning as a minister in the UDF government.

Let the people assess the fact whether she got intensified recognition and praise or not while she was in the UDF, he observed.

The rider about one comment escaped from media analysis. Achuthanandan urged Gowri Amma to continue to serve the people with the same verve as she used to have while she was in the CPM.

Even if everybody else got lost out on the meaningful comment, Gowri Amma retorted she did not leave the CPM, but she was ousted. Now she has her own party and she does not have to look for another.

Let the gesture of Achuthanandan be noticed. He went to her house at Chathanad and ate out from the plantain leaves placed for her by Gowri Amma. He broke from the routine vegetarianism and tasted the choicest fish curry.

These days his bete noires in the CPM were keeping him out of functions in which he should have been legitimately part of. EMS birth centenary function was one event among many.

He was not called in when the CPM leaders discussed issues with the CPI leaders at the AKG Centre the other day. The meaning was clear, VS was being kept out. That message was being sent out to the cadres by the state party leadership.

The rival faction wants VS to simply pop off from the scene after the central committee takes whatever decision on July 11 and 12.

The indications given out by VS in this regard are clear. He would not vanish into thin air just as Nripen Chakroborty had disappeared or ex-Speaker Somnath Chatterjee may retire into nothingness.

VS would get fora from nowhere and be in the limelight. His rivals want him to toe their line, which on all accounts is not possible for him. Even though his rivals have the party apparatus with him in full, they cannot decimate him.

The call to Gowri Amma could be a pointer to what would follow if drastic action is taken against him at the central committee.

Will politics in Kerala be the same after a fortnight?

By O J George
Kottayam: Sweeping political developments are on the way in Kerala. The CPM-led Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front cannot remain static in the light of various issues coming to the fore.

The CPM is a boiling cauldron, with Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan ostensibly leading a fight against corruption on the one hand and state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan holding the party apparatus within his fist.Nobody can make an inroad into his influence in the organisational set-up in the state. CPM general secretary Prakash Karat has been forced to toe his line more or less.

Whatever be the decisions coming out of the deliberations in the central committee meeting on July 11 and 12, the party is not going to be the same again.

LDF partners are not happy about the ways of the CPM, for the partners are not consulted on key issues. Decisions are thrust on them for concurrence.CPI general secretary A.B.Bardhan has been airing his strong views against the high-handedness of the CPM in West Bengal and Kerala where the leftists had to bite the dust in the Lok Sabha polls.

It seems the CPI is not happy about the move to take action against Achuthanandan. But it is yet to be seen what sort of action the CPI will take if things take a serious turn after the CPM CC meetings.

Janata Dal(S) is a divided lot. Last time when Deve Gowda hobnobbed with the BJP in Karnataka, Kerala’s M.P.Veerendra Kumar could simply take out the state unit from the Gowda bandwagon.

Now things are different. Veerendra Kumar has brute majority in the state organisation. But two MLAs are with the LDF.Ultimately, Veerendra Kumar has to move towards the UDF.

When such was the situation, NCP’s state president K.Muraleedharan is not prepared to wait any more for hitching the outfit with the UDF. All his efforts and the wishes of his father, K.Karunakaran, to ensure the entry of Muraleedharan into the Congress or the UDF had gone awry.

Now Muraleedharan is pressing NCP national president Sharad Pawar to push the proposal forward with Congress high command to ensure entry of NCP into the UDF in Kerala. Pawar reportedly agreed with Muraleedharan that there should be a UPA-type alliance in Kerala.

A.V.Thamarakshan of the erstwhile RSP has come into the UDF via JSS of K.R.Gowri Amma.In the circumstances, the UDF is a sought-after coalition for being with the power- possible.

The CPM can take any decision now, for it knows it too well that it cannot change the alternate reign system for the LDF and the UDF in Kerala.

Whatever be the organisational decisions of the CPM now, it does not stand to lose much.All the same, why should there be stagnation in the politicalscape? Let there be movement forward. For human history has been made by people and leaders who always were active, on the move.

CPM, take notice, Congress is out to tackle you!

By O.J.George
Kottayam: The Left front, particularly the CPM, was severely bashed up in the Lok Sabha elections.

Perhaps, groupism in the CPM and disunity among the LDF partners have hogged the headlines as these developments offered sauce for the media.

But the crux of the political connotation is that the CPM is going to be battered severely at levels of at least Kerala and West Bengal.

The defeat in West Bengal should be viewed more seriously than the destruction being brought about to the party because of personal wranglings in Kerala.

For over 30 years, the CPM has been the undisputed rulers in West Bengal. Every nook and corner was their pocket-borough.

Now West Bengal people are running away from it from many places, if the indications of the Lok Sabha elections are any pointers.Less than two years from now, Assembly elections would be held in Kerala, which has the precedents of alternate reign by the UDF and LDF.

There is no reason why the alternate governance pattern should not be repeated.But that is not the case with West Bengal which is going to the polls this year, along with some other states like Maharashtra.

Now Bengal has two stalwarts in the Union Cabinet, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Railway Minister Mamta Banerjee.

The Railway Minister has already bestowed her bounty on her state.Apart from trains and all, she has allotted a railway coach factory which would be located within the area of riots-marred Lalmarh.This should provide a lot of employment opportunities to the youth there directly and indirectly.

The Finance Minister has given a largesse to the state to rehabilitate the cyclone-ravaged areas.This budget provision of Rs 1,000 crore is over and above the National Calamity and Contingency Relief fund.

Note it well. Pranab Mukherjee has made an announcement that banking and insurance sectors would remain with the public sector.

The Left would have taken on the Congress and its ally, Trinamool Congress, in West Bengal had there been overt announcements about these sectors going private.

Everyone knows that more liberalized measures are on the way. But this official announcement in the budget would gag the Left from making frontal attacks against the Congress and TMC.

Moreover, the Finance Minister put thrust on agriculture sector and assured devolution of funds to the ryots one way or other.

The rural folks should also be somewhat happy. The poor people get Rs three a kilo rice or wheat. National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme would ensure some money trickling to the labourers.

The Congress party and its government are going ahead with a strong bonding.

Take the case of the CPM. Its general secretary, Prakash Karat, is supporting Kerala’s party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan.

Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan is dead against Pinrayi’s doings.

There are members in the politburo and the central committee lined up pro and con Achuthanandan as well as Pinarayi Vijayan.

West Bengal members play the neutral card.

Any solution, preferring one to the other would bring in doom.The situation is precarious for the CPM and consequently the Left front, both in Kerala and West Bengal.

Mind you, the CPM has an arduous task before it to keep itself keeping actively afloat, let alone retaining power.

Pranab, the seasoned politician targeting electorate

By O.J.George

Kottayam: The seasoned politician in Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee came out in the open when he presented the budget proposals in Parliament today with thrust on farm sector and development of infrastructure in the country.

The farmers outnumber any other category of avocation. And infrastructure development would offer increasing employment opportunities.

An allocation of Rs one lakh crore has been set apart for infrastructure development.
A lot of concessions have been offered to those in the agriculture sector. Additional loans to the tune of Rs 3.25 lakh crore would be issued in the farm sector.

The aim is to achieve four per cent growth in the agriculture sector, which earlier was less than two per cent.

Interest concessions are there for those who repay farm loan installments. The national rural employment guarantee project got Rs 39,000 crore more, which is expected to generate 120 lakh job opportunities.

Poverty would be reduced by half by 2014 and economic growth would be targeted for 9 per cent achievement.

Twenty-five kilos of rice or wheat would be given at Rs three per kilo to poor people, ie people living below the poverty line.

At the same time, middle income groups were not ignored. Income tax payment ceiling was raised to Rs 1.60, Rs 1.90 for women and Rs 2.40 lakh to senior citizens.

Fringe benefit tax has been removed.

The package to tackle recession amounts to Rs 40,000 crore.

Interest on educational loans would be provided with subsidy.

Banking and insurance would be retained in the public sector, which assertion removes the scare among certain sections of the society.

A fine reading of certain announcements would reveal that the welfare measures would create a sense of security for the electorate. Assembly elections are round the corner in West Bengal, Maharashtra etc.

Food security, employment opportunities and concessions for educational loans etc would relieve the poor people.

A sum of Rs 1,000 crore has been allocated for rehabilitation of cyclone ravaged West Bengal people.

Even though he speaks about disinvestment and liberalization, the thrust lacks sheen, and that accounts for the fall in index BSE, National Stock Exchange etc.

Pranab is really targeting the electorate.

Leaders scrape through, but the party is losing

By O.J.George

Kottayam: Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan has been trying very hard in the party to see that action is taken against state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, but so far his efforts have not been fruitful.
Even today he tried to drive the point home at the concluding day of the two-day special politburo meeting convened in Delhi that corruption issue should be dealt with seriously.

But how his efforts would bear fruits is questionable now that general secretary Prakash Karat has told the PB that no action need be taken against Pinarayi Vijayan.

Of course, there are reports that Sitaram Yechuri, Manik Sarkar and M.K.Pandhe wanted action against Pinarayi Vijayan.

The PB was not able to arrive at a consensus on the issue of action against Pinarayi Vijayan.

But action should be taken against Achuthanandan for breaching party discipline. This view seems to have found inclusion in the proposals being sent to the central committee being held on July 11 and 12.

There may be some action against Achuthanandan like reprimand, censure, demotion to the central committee.

Action like suspension would necessitate V S to demit office of the Chief Minister. Nobody can conceive of a situation under which Achuthanandan should resign.

That will only generate more problems than the solution found by the party.

In effect, conceding some action against Achuthanandan and Pinarayi Vijayan (both have been suspended from the PB earlier and then reinstated), there may not be change in posts.

The party will go on discussing the issues from different angles, but the persons who are responsible for the problems would continue. Here the leaders win, but the party loses.

Janata Dal (S) groups parting ways with clear perception

By O J George

Kottayam: It is good that the Janta Dal(S) groups have gone about expressing themselves quite clearly about their respective stance.

The moment M.P.Veerendra Kumar was denied a Lok Sabha seat, it was clear he would not affiliate with the LDF anymore.

He has contributed to some extent for increasing the margin of victory of UDF candidates in the election.

Now he cannot remain part of the LDF, which he says, had ousted him and his group.

Now Deve Gowda, who always loves to remain with opportunities for grabbing power, is naturally with the LDF, whose government has roughly two more years to complete its five-year tenure.

Although Mathew T Thomas had to quit as decided by the party state unit, he and another MLA, Jose Thettayil, want to remain with the LDF.

There are three other MLAs who staunchly remain with the Veerendra Kumar group.

Now to retain MLAship of the rival group, they have to take disciplinary action against each other like mutual expulsion. Otherwise, they would invite action like disqualification on account of anti-defection law.

I am happy about one thing. Both groups have expressed their views quite clearly. There is no dilly-dallying. In democracy, it should be like that.

If they cannot continue together, let them part ways. Veerendra Kumar bidding adieu to Deve Gowda is nothing new.

The whole state unit of Janata Dal(S) had abandoned Deve Gowda when his group allied itself with the BJP for forming a government in Karnataka by Kumaraswamy, son of Deve Gowda. It is another matter Deve Gowda ditched the BJP subsequently, without offering half of the agreed tenure to the BJP.

Clarity, and not evasion, should be the strong-point of political way forward.

Will the parleys in Delhi kickstart total change?

By O J George

Kottayam: This week will be crucial for Kerala politics, particularly for LDF, its main party and government, and Janata Dal (S) which is splitting.

The special politburo meeting of the CPM gets started in Delhi today. The failure of two stalwarts, Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan and party’s state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, both politburo members, to move together in the matter of governance and running of party affairs has been the single major factor that brought discredit to the party, the coalition and consequent burden on the people.

It is for the party to decide whether there should be a major surgery or administer “cough syrup” to manage the hiccups.

If nothing is done and the affairs allowed to run themselves out, it would be a torment to the people, for they are the actual sufferers of indecision and disputes over major developmental projects.

The CPM is a party of think tanks, albeit ideologically enslaved, and so they should solve the problem. The CPI has come out in the open castigating the unilateral ways of the big brother. RSP has called for decisive steps to correct the distortion.

Janata Dal(S) has already split, it has only to be formalised. The parting of ways of Deve Gowda and Veerendra Kumar would be clear from today’s national executive meeting being held in Delhi.

Veerendra Kumar group may join the UDF and the rival splinter may remain with the LDF.

But what is crucial is whether Achuthanandan will be asked to step down, Pinarayi may be directed to abdicate the state secretary’s post, or both of them may be asked to give up the respective posts, or whether Achuthanandan may be asked to behave and allowed to remain as Chief Minister, even as Pinarayi may be told to unseat himself and face the court battle in the Lavalin corruption issue.

Asking Achuthanandan to go is easy, but the consequences would be far reaching. Asking Pinarayi to relinquish the post is difficult as the state party is with him lock, stock and barrel.

If the politburo can only ask Pinarayi to give it a helping hand by remaining offline until the court clears him. Will Pinarayi and his adamant supporters oblige the central leadership to save the party? Will Achuthanandan arrive at any compromise?

The Left partners have all understood the plight in which they are wallowing. Their prodding would also be crucial for the front captain to kickstart total change.

Perversion no doubt, but a crime is a crime

By O J George

Kottayam: No doubt the incident reported from what should be hallowed precincts of Mahatma Gandhi University is shameful. If the allegation is proved, it would invite punishment on many counts.

K.A.Joseph, the person who tried to molest or has molested a nursing student, a married woman, is at large.

The CPM-affiliated employees association has disowned him.The university has already suspended him from service as section officer.

Now there should be no impediment in Joseph surrendering before the police. He can definitely take recourse to the law, for ensuring protection of his personal rights.

Mind you, Shiney Ahuja, the Cassanova-looking Bollywood actor, is behind bars now for raping his maid servant at home when his wife and child were away.

He also will get the protection of the law, if the allegation is untrue.

Therefore, there is no point for Joseph to remain in hiding.

After the issue has come out in the open, there can be no denying the fact that there is an allegation, a very serious charge of duping a girl who had approached him for re-registration of her nursing course.

She was trapped into a vehicle saying there were some problems with the nursing council where he would take her.

The girl told him she would set right all those problems. But all on a sudden she was taken into the vehicle which sped off towards Ernakulam side. In fact, she was asked to report to him on the particular day, all alone.

The family members of the girl also erred in assessing the situation. They should not have allowed her to meet this man alone.

Her husband and her brother were planning to come to her later. That was the great mistake they had committed.

They might have thought that, after all she was going to the sprawling university campus where thousands of employees work and there are hundreds of departmental students as well as a daily crowd of hundreds of visitors.

Perverts can find opportunities even in a crowd. That was what everyone did not think of.

Anyway the man got the girl in the car and allegedly mistreated her during the journey.

When her husband called her over the mobile phone, she tried to explain the situation, and the offender dropped her at Kanakkari. Later, she rejoined her husband and brother.

On her submitting a complaint, the section officer was suspended from service. Her re-registration was also granted by the university.

There are so many serious issues involved. Illegal confinement, molesting, intention to rape and so many other criminal provisions would surface.

These are perversions, no doubt, but a crime is a crime.

Years ago, a security officer of the university was packed off when it was revealed that the air-conditioned chamber of the vice-chancellor was used by prostitutes to enthrall their customers at night.

Now Joseph has no chance to escape facing the facts. He should make himself available to the police or court. Let the law take its own course.

Go in for strong action either way and save the people

By O J George

Kottayam: No doubt the CPM-led Left Democratic Front and its government led by V.S.Achuthanandan are in limbo due to groupism in the party and disunity among the front partners.

The sad state of affairs for any party, front or government has not been contributed by the rival Congress-led United Democratic Front or its partners.

LDF’s fall is its own making. It cannot blame anyone else for the sorry state of affairs. Anyone would ask, “What a great fall it is, my countrymen”!!!

The LDF had got over 100 seats in the Assembly election. After three years, when the intervening Lok Sabha polls were held, it lost in 102 Assembly segments. Since this erosion does not officially relate to the State Assembly, for the election was only for the Lok Sabha, the government can continue.

However, the party will not allow smooth functioning of the government of this sort.

The central committee of the party has made it clear that CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan should share the blame for the debacle.

There were devious ways of functioning of the party apparatus in the state. An unsupported Achuthanandan had given enough fuel to the opposition to kindle a fireworks during the Lok Sabha elections.

The UDF win was not the achievement of particular leaders. It was brought about by the compendious disenchantment felt by the people at large. Ramesh Chennithala, Oommen Chandy or anyone else cannot particularly make claims individually for fetching the double blessings of poll glory and ruin of the LDF dispensation.

Now the politburo of the CPM is to hold sittings on July 4 and 5 for discussing the problems in Kerala alone. The issue is whether the politburo has the popular strength to bridle both Pinarayi Vijayan and Achuthanandan. Both of them have popular backing in their own way. But can the politburo members like Prakash Karat and S.Ramachandran Pillai claim grass-roots level popularity in Kerala?

Strong action against Pinarayi and Achuthanandan, either jointly or severally, would have repercussions in the party. Conversely, no action, notwithstanding some censure or demotion but letting them go to keep their positions, would definitely weaken the party and the hold among the people.

The party and the Left organisations are in a dilemma. But then, politics is a vibrant field. No static state of affairs can enthuse the people and retain their interest.

Yesterday, a pre-planned LDF meeting could not be held, apparently on account of the difference of opinion among the front partners.

Perhaps, the political players did not want further controversies being created before the CPM politburo would make cogent decisions about dealing with the affairs in Kerala.

Big projects like Smart City, Vizhinjam harbour are in danger of being scuttled. Self-financing educational sector is in a shambles. Perhaps, the Central move as an all-India solution, may help in future.

Pinarayi may have felt he should be the sole solution for the party in Kerala. Achuthanandan may not have got support from the party for proper governance. The resultant situation is not sauce for the people.

The assertions of some selfish media analysts, lined up in favour of Pinarayi on the one hand and others for Achuthanandan on the other, would not help either the party or the government.

Only strong action will save the party and the front from being decimated. Why should the burdens of the party and the government be forced on the people who should suffer the pangs and loss of development for the State? Whatever be the consequences, let stagnation be not the rule, but action the solution for the malaise.

Squandering huge amount of money for Air India?

By O.J.George

Kottayam: Reports have been appearing in the media about Air India, the national carrier, seeking governmental assistance to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore. Nay, it is prepared to prune the figure to Rs 10,000 crore of the tax-payers’ money.

Air-India chief Arvind Jadhav briefed Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel after consultations with civial aviation secretary M.M.Nambiar and financial adviser Bharat Bhushan and the whole lot seem to have got Prime Minister’s principal T K A Nair for a package.

Ultimately, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh was also met, who it appears is not whole-heartedly attuned to issuing such a huge bail-out package.

The explanation for the sagging finances and image of the national carrier is that it lost Rs 5,000 crore during the last financial year. At present the loss is a mere Rs 15 crore daily!!!

Last year, Praful Patel and team were successful in placing orders for 111 new aircraft at an estimated cost of Rs 45,000 crore. When the craft for which orders have been placed are delivered, perhaps there would be huge cost escalation as well.

Airlines the world over have been putting orders for new aircraft in limbo in view of recession and bad performance. Here Air India is not concerned about it at all and is proceeding with the orders for the new planes, which should run services to every nook and corner of the country as well as abroad.

The ways of the airlines are often murky. There was one Capt Gopinath who was quite successful in convincing the world that his idea of no-frills airline and cheap fares was for people’s welfare. People need only spend slightly more than the train ticket for taking to the skies.

The same gentleman, reaping a harvest, sold off his Air Deccan to Vijay Mallya of Kingfisher. We do not know what Jet Airways is going to do after registering fall in income. Its staff members have already been suffering.

Whatever the mega plans of airlines, people’s money should not be frittered away.
When money is thrown away like this, one should vet the state of affairs elsewhere.

The state-level bankers’ meeting in Kerala reported rise in NRI’s deposits, but the credit-deposit ratio has gone down.

The gentlemen in the banks are not amenable to giving easy loans. Governments were eloquent on liberalised loans from banks, particularly for students undertaking higher students in the form of educational loans. In practice, students bemoan that banks are not prepared to shell out money easily.

Mind you, when the economy is liberalised like ours now, we should urgently think about formulating a social security scheme at the federal level encompassing the whole population like in the West. Those who are jobless and without an income should be taken care of through social security net. There should be a social security number for each person.

Today Nandan Nilekani of Infosys has been appointed chairman of the commission to allot identity card and number to all Indians. This exercise should ultimately become the national social security formulation and number.

Meanwhile, precious money should not be wasted on any entity, be it airlines or otherwise, which mismanages funds and come to a cropper.

Fix responsibility for those who forfeited Rs 125 crore

By O J George

Kottayam: Politicalwallahs speak eloquent about Lavalin case, pro and con. The gravamen of the allegation is that Rs 100-crore assistance promised to Malabar Cancer Centre was lost as part of the SNC Lavalin deal.

Let the court adjudicate about it, whether Pinarayi Vijayan is the only political beneficiary or Karthikeyan is also involved. Perhaps none may be corrupt, about which also the court has to arrive at the findings.

But are we simply writing off Rs 125 crore for the Thiruvananthapuram capital development scheme as arbitration compensation to the company for failure to discharge the responsibilities in accordance with the provisions of the agreement?

The directive of the Arbitration Council to the State government to pay compensation of Rs. 125 crore to Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Ltd for contractual violation has led to a war of words between the Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front, with the rival fronts accusing the other of causing loss to the exchequer.

The Rs 225-crore project had been bogged down due to failure on the part of the UDF government to complete the land acquisition before the deadline in November 2006, according to the LDF.

While the UDF showed undue haste in entering into the contract, it did little to acquire the necessary land, the LDF alleged.

The project was revived and land acquisition was expedited after the LDF government assumed office.

The UDF accused the LDF government being responsible for the loss. A press note issued by the IUML called for recovering the compensation from Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac and department officials responsible for the situation.

The government was still not in a position to fix a deadline for the project, even if the arbitration award was paid.

The crucial issue is not the delay in land acquisition, the company was ready to honour the contract if the government cleared the arrears for the work completed. The LDF government’s refusal to clear Rs. 30 crore due to the company complicated matters, leading to arbitration.

On Monday there was a spat between Opposition Leader Oommen Chandy and PWD Minister Mons Joseph regarding the loss of Rs 125 crore to the exchequer.

By simply engaging in a blame game, Mons Joseph or Finance Minister Thomas Isaac or whoever else cannot absolve themselves of the responsibility.

If we had engaged thousands of traditional coolies spending this much of amount, better results could have been obtained in the developmental front of Kerala. Are we not penny-wise and pound-foolish?

Mons Joseph waxes eloquent on high-flown projects like Mission 2010, Rs 3 crore slab replacement project and what else. Did he complete anything?

Thomas Isaac had released some money to the PWD department immediately after Mons Joseph assumed office and some tarring works were undertaken.
P J Joseph and T U Kuruvilla could not do so because Thomas Isaac had not released money to them.

The LDF, it seems, had thought inclusion of Mons Joseph would attract the church to the ideas of the front. That Mons Joseph was a nobody in matters of the church was proved right during the Lok Sabha elections. That is a different matter.

Someone should account for the loss of Rs 125 crore to the people.

Mind you, Thomas Isaac had announced certain popular projects in the budget without specific allocations. He had no money. If we lose money like this, should there be no responsibility?

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.

Suddenly NSS has rebelled against Congress

By O J George

Kottayam: It may not be without cogent reason that the usually-docile Nair Service Society has rebelled against the Congress Party.

And there may be something more than meets the eye for the direct hits made by NSS general secretary P.K.Narayana Panicker and assistant secretary G.Sukumaran Nair.

Even the ruined LDF had admitted to the gentlemanly way of NSS in keeping its equi-distance policy. The LDF had said the SNDP Yogam of Vellappalli Natesan was not that gentemenly towards extending assistance to the LDF candidates in the Lok Sabha elections in spite of its professions outwardly.

Union Ministers K V Thomas and Shashi Tharoor have been snubbed by the NSS leadership. Both of them wanted to visit the NSS headquarters at Perunna, Changanasserry. But they were plainly told they could not be extended a reception.

The meaning is quite clear. The NSS is sore over something relating to the Congress high command. What could be the sore point?

Sukumaran Nair has called Shashi Tharoor a Delhi Nair, not acceptable to Perunna, the Vatican of the NSS.

It is now news that NSS had advised him not to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Thiruvananthapuram. Tharoor did not say anything, but ultimately when the candidates’ list came, he was in and was lined up at Thiruvananthapuram.

For he was the nominee of the Congress High Command. K V Thomas also was the nominee of the Congress High Command.

K V Thomas’ wish to visit Perunna was not through the district leadership or state leadership of the Congress. Thomas was trying to take credit for bringing in a rapprochement with the NSS, which is peeved that the Rajya Sabha seat of Thennala Balakrishna Pillai was given over to Vayalar Ravi.

Earlier there were five Nair candidates for the Lok Sabha. This time the number was reduced to four.

When ministers were made, Nairs were ignored. So goes the list of grouse. NSS has already made a complaint to the Congress in this regard. And there was no indication of solving the problem.

There would be three by-elections to Kerala Assembly in the seats vacated by K.Sudhakaran (Kannur), K C Venugopal (Alappuzha) and K V Thomas (Ernakulam) who have all become MPs.

NSS would not allow the by-election candidate selection bypassing the community’s interests.

Moreover, Congress Party would go in for a massive reorganization of office-bearers in the backdrop of many incumbents getting elected as MPs and some ministers.

No one knows for a fact whether NSS dislikes shifting of KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala for a higher post at the AICC. Perhaps Chennithala is being groomed as a future Chief Minister.

It was the misfortune of Karunakaran’s son K.Muraleedharan who was once the KPCC president. He would have ended up as the Chief Minister, had he patiently waited for the opportunity. Now it could be Chennithala who may be blessed some time later.

The grapevine has it that there was a move to bring in V M Sudheeran, a protégé of A.K.Antony, as KPCC chief. Ramesh Chennithala would be an AICC general secretary, in that case.

V S, Pinarayi may remain, some Ministers may get axe

By O J George

Kottayam: Ultimately, Chief Minister Achuthanandan and CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan may remain in their respective posts. Some ministers may get the axe.

This could be the formula being worked out for the solution of the problems plaguing Kerala unit of the party. There may be changes in the cabinet of West Bengal as well.

The changes may not be made immediately after the politburo and central committee meetings. The PB may be entrusted with taking the final decision.

Then the PB leaders would come to Kerala and hold discussions to make changes in the cabinet.

Leaders have started zooming in on AKG Centre in Gole Market, New Delhi, to attend the politburo meeting on June 19 and the central committee meeting on 20 and 21.

Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan have reached Delhi. CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan is also expected in Delhi today itself.

Law Minister M.Vijayakumar and Health Minister P.K.Sreemathy are also reaching Delhi, it has been reported.

All groups are gearing up for presenting their views comprehensively so that there would be developments as they want after the politburo and central committee meetings.

The discussions at these bodies would be crucial as the CPM had met with an all-time low in electoral politics.

The debacle was severe in West Bengal as well as Kerala.

The official agenda for the politburo is review of election performance. Politburo member M K Pandhe had said earlier that if someone raises the Lavalin issue, it would be discussed.

Lavalin, anyway cannot go unnoticed. The election review report has reference about Lavalin. Also, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan is sure to raise the issue.

The paradox is that the central leadership which is convinced that the problems in Kerala are serious would not rush in to take action against either Pinarayi Vijayan or V S Achuthanandan.

For, the central leadership is convinced that all the problems have arisen because of the rivalry between Pinarayi Vijayan and Achuthanandan. Pinarayi’s grip in the party cannot be removed. The popularity of Achuthanandan cannot be ignored.

Achuthanandan may cave in provided no harm would come to his position. Also, if the party comes round to accepting the position that Pinarayi should face Lavalin legally, without challenging the action of the Governor, the ethics of Pinarayi continuing as party secretary facing corruption charge is something the central leadership should take care of.

And there would be a stick ready to beat Pinarayi when results of future elections like the Assembly polls ensue. In panchayat elections due in 2010, the results need not be that bad for the LDF.

Lavalin charge-sheet, if accepted by the special court in Kochi on Tuesday will take a long time for conclusion.

The central leadership of the party has already made it clear that corrective steps would be taken to deal with the distancing of the people from the party.

The CPM has already approached the church for a rapprochement. The education sphere was the harshest realm of contention between the church and the party.

Will M A Baby face the axe? Will the CPM divest itself of the tricky portfolio and give it over to Kerala Congress(J), when P J Joseph is to re-admitted to the cabinet? It could be some way of appeasing the church.

Devaswom Minister G.Sudhakaran, beware. Some people have a feeling that he had meddled too much in the affairs of certain community leaders. The party may go in for pleasing community leaders.

What other changes would result in may be part of the wisdom of party leadership.

However, the debacle in West Bengal where the CPM had an upper hand for the last three decades or more, is sure to attract the attention of the leadership for changes in approach, and policy.

Churning-up process in parties, BJP most serious

By O J George

Kottayam: There is a deft move by some leaders in the BJP to remove Rajnath Singh from the post of president as a fall-out of the debacle in the Lok Sabha elections.

The tactic is for other leaders to demit office showing the way for Rajnath Singh to leave the post. But Rajnath Singh is not biting the bait.

Think-tank Brajesh Mishra has observed the BJP and the RSS should go in for a more inclusive agenda. Clinging on to Hindutva will not fetch enough Lok Sabha seats for forming a government.

Another think-tank Sudheendra Kulkarni has all along been game for appeasing other communities on a broader perspective.

Now Dr Murli Manohar Joshi has made it clear ties with RSS cannot be snapped as BJP has no existence without RSS. RSS leader Vaidya was firm about holding on to Hindutva. The BJP can leave out Hindutva, but then RSS will not be there to offer any help. The hint was clear the BJP cannot leave out Hindutva.

Leaders Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha, Arun Jaitley etc have questioned the leadership by leaving party positions. Lok Sabha deputy leader Sushma Swaraj has pointed out the party is sitting on a volcano.

But all these developments have a positive role in democratic polity. Change is the key word for ensuring growth and progress forward.

But do we hear anything from the Left parties for bringing in change? No, they are engaging themselves in unending discussions.

The CPM will have to make crucial decisions at its politburo meeting on June 19 and subsequent central committee meetings.

In spite of the big blow it received in the Lok Sabha elections, there has been no call for removing Prakash Karat from the post of general secretary. The West Bengal unit had made some reference to the responsibility of the central leadership as well for the poor performance.

In Kerala, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan wants Pinarayi Vijayan to step down as state secretary of the party. Pinarayi Vijayan, in turn, wants Achuthanandan to leave office.

The politburo and the central committee would discuss the issue threadbare. Everybody would blame everybody else and finally everybody would continue in their positions, status quo ante maintaining.

Changing one leader would lead to more complications. Changing all would result in utter destruction.

There can be no question of leadership change in CPI, RSP and Kerala Congress(J). There are serious problems in Janata Dal(S), but those are for other reasons. If the CPM cannot tolerate Veerendrakumar, the party will not be with the LDF, which may get a small slice of the party organization, if there is a split.

Deve Gowda, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Ramvilas Paswan et al are comfortably poised. No one can challenge them.

With all the goings-on considered, the warm-up exercises in the BJP are the most natural in a democratic polity.

Wisdom in hind-sight by LDF partners

By O J George

Kottayam: One would wish the LDF partners had advised big brother CPM to correct its erroneous ways on time!

There were the Singur and Nandigram land acquisition problems. There was the V S Achuthanandan-Pinarayi Vijayan tussle all these years.

Bishops, the NSS and most of the communities had grievances. The education realm was for so long churned inside out.

All the time, the LDF partners were sitting pretty, leaving everything to the principal party to solve the problems by itself.

No amount of denying would cover up the groupism in the CPM. The alliance partners should have put the main party on notice several times earlier.

Maybe, everyone thought the LDF had come to power on a landslide victory in the Assembly elections. The CPM was the main player and the people would stand by it.

The front partners allowed the main party to behave as though the government was only its own. Others were just hangers-on.

Now everything has gone beyond reparation by minor changes and just tinkering with issues.

The CPM thought, it seems, when a Mathew T Thomas and Mons Joseph are there in the
Cabinet, the church would sit with it. When the media asked Mathew T Thomas and Mons Joseph about the misgivings of the church, they used to simply shake it off saying the problems were being solved.

They were told that the LDF was not against minorities. Now Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil himself has pointed out in the pastoral letter that even the church members were defeated in the Lok Sabha elections.

Now CPI general secretary A B Bardhan says the CPM should solve the group rivalry between Pinarayi Vijayan and V SAchuthanandan. He is perfectly right in saying so, but the advice is belated.

There was a situation when the CPM politburo had suspended Pinarayi and Achuthanandan from the politburo. The PB took them back on the assumption that they have corrected their party ways.

Prof T J Chandrachoodan is a forthright person on various issues. But he was found lacking in correcting the big brother.

Kerala Congress (J) and Janata Dal (S) were helpless, for their views were not found receptive, it seems. Otherwise, should the church be so distanced from the ruling dispensation?

Mons Joseph was the pick of the CPM. But what could he do to get the support of the church? Beware, all these people are going to face the wrath of the church in the next Assembly elections.

The point is, one should speak out when there is the need. Vacillation will not help anyone, but self-destruction is assured.

Non-Congress majors squirming after debacle

By O J George

Kottayam: Non-Congress majors are squirming as various leaders are in rebellion calling for changes in the organisational hierarchy.

There is demand for a Kamaraj Plan in the BJP, meaning those who led the party during the Lok Sabha elections should own up responsibility for the party’s miserable performance and demit office.

The first salvo was fired by Jaswant Singh, the subsequent shot was from Yashwant Sinha. They were credited with running the country’s external affairs and finance ministries in the A B Vajpayee government from time to time.

Yashwant Sinha, vice-president of the BJP, left all his official positions. He wants all other office-bearers to call it a day.

Political rumour-mongers anticipate exit of more people from positions in the BJP. The protest actions are active at a time when BJP president Rajnath Singh has banned all public outbursts against the party.

Yashwant Sinha apparently feels that people close to Rajya Sabha leader Arun Jaitley and Lok Sabha leader L K Advani, who were responsible for drawing up and implementing strategies for the Lok Sabha elections, have gone scot-free.

The present scenario is that leaders like Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha cannot speak out owing to the diktat of Rajnath Singh, but the script-writers of defeat in the Lok Sabha can have their way.

It seems active politicians in the BJP are not happy with the strategies being dished out by intellectuals like Sudheendra Kulkarni. They would have stomached the ideas provided these were effective.

We have seen that behind-the-scene intellectual splurges did not snatch out a victory for the BJP. It was the India Shining slogan experiment that had met with negativity earlier. The campaign had failed to re-seat Vajpayee as the Prime Minister.

This time L K Advani was made to go in for a blitzkrieg against Manmohan Singh, calling him a weak Prime Minister playing second fiddle to Sonia Gandhi. Manmohan was challenged for a television debate, assuming that Advani was standing taller than the Prime Minister.

Now Brajesh Mishra, National Security Adviser in the Vajpayee dispensation, has called for a reassessment of the stance of the BJP as well as the RSS which should go in for a more inclusive agenda.

Which means construction of the Ram temple, scrapping Article conferring special status on Jammu and Kashmir, and insistence on uniform civil code should be kept aside if the BJP has to come back to power.

The NDA partners had extracted this condition before Vajpayee had become Prime Minister.

The advisers have apportioned the blame on various BJP leaders for the debacle in the Lok Sabha elections, but the intellectuals are going happy-go-lucky dishing out ideas for improvement without their sharing responsibility, according to senior leaders like Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha.

Media watchers remember it was Sudheendra Kulkarni who put the Jinnah-secular idea in the mouth of Advani when he visited Pakistan during the Vajpayee regime. Advani had to face the wrath of the RSS for this outburst.

True, active politicians have their own wisdom which is drawn from grassroots level interactions. Advisers, confined to ivory towers, play on assumptions and direct the leaders, who often go awry.

It is not the BJP alone which erred in reading the pulse of the people. The left dispensation, particularly the CPM, was wholly unrealistic in their perceptions of people’s receptivity.

The CPM was behaving as though it was running an election campaign as a single party, particularly in Kerala. The LDF partners were taken for granted. The CPI and the Janata Dal (S) were ill-treated.

The result was to be expected, but various leaders were simply short-sighted to perceive reality.

Lalu Prasad Yadav of RJD, Mulayam Singh Yadav of Samajwadi Party, Ramvilas Paswan of Lok Janshakti had all gone wrong in their assessment of the political situation.

Since these are single-leader entities, their heads will not roll. The CPM is also a peculiar party with regard to leadership. It may speak about corrective measures, but these would be superficial.

The BJP has not taken serious note of the rebellion. Rajnath Singh is non-committal. Arun Jaitley has gone on family holiday. Advani is reportedly game for relinquishing Lok Sabha party leadership to deputy Sushma Swaraj after some time.

Other than these, it would be politics-as-usual for all the main entities. Meanwhile, Congress seems to be consolidating its position, because there is good rapport between Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh.

E M S memorial without VS: CPM stands exposed

Kottayam: It is good that the CPM is erecting a fitting memorial to E.M.S.Namboodiripad, the synonym of Communism in Kerala, in connection with the birth centenary of the great leader.

The EMS memorial is coming up at Elamkulam Mana at Perintalmanna in Malappuram district.

Various leaders were lined up for participation in the function, including general secretary Prakash Karat and state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan. Prakash Karat has inaugurated the function and Pinarayi Vijayan laid the foundation stone for the memorial structure.

The prominent absentee was Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, who was a politburo member during the time of EMS. And EMS would not have liked the exclusion of Achuthanandan from such important functions, marking a milestone in the history of the Communist movement.

Group politics is one thing, and celebration of EMS birth centenary is a different matter altogether.

It would have been in the fitness of things if Chief Minister Achuthanandan was given a role there.

Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, Planning Board deputy chairman Prabhat Patnaik and all were speaking at the function. They were speaking at the seminar, all right.

It was not because a role could not be found for the Chief Minister, but because the organisers apparently wanted no presence of the Chief Minister deliberately that such an eventuality has come up.

Mind you, the people are watching. Not only comrades, but also the general public take interest in historical persuasions.

Everyone knows that Pinarayi Vijayan and V S Achuthanandan do not follow the same path in the party. They are far apart in convictions and actions. However, each one cannot complement his actions without the other, as far as party matters are concerned.

I feel Prakash Karat himself should have intervened and set right the short-coming. But Karat, these days, are keeping himself aloof from Kerala matters, it seems.

He is leaving everything to the deliberations being held at the politburo on June 19 and the central committee on 20-21.

The leave-it-alone attitude would not help to solve the problems. Kerala affairs need direct intervention and solution. Things cannot be left for the times to find a solution.

CPM has been moving politically, not legally

By O J George

Kottayam: Now the CPM cannot shy away from the allegations of irregularities with regard to SNC Lavalin deal.

The CBI has filed charge-sheet against CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and 8 others in the special court in Kochi.

Mathew Roy and Rajagopal have been excluded from the array of the accused.Pinarayi Vijayan is the seventh accused in the case.

The-then KSEB chairman Gopalakrishnan has also not figured in the list of accused.

The agreement for renovation of three power houses and the consequent deals have resulted in the case.It is alleged that the state lost a huge amount by way of the deal.

Now that the charge-sheet has been filed in court, it seems the party cannot challenge the decision of the Governor easily.

Perhaps the party could have done so earlier and blocked the filing of the charge-sheet.

But where was a compendious decision of the party with regard to the Lavalin issue and the consequent sanction by the Governor?

Party general secretary Prakash Karat was not available with any specific directive. For a few days he did not react at all. So far he has not reacted clearly, except to say that the politburo has already issued a statement.

The statement was nothing specific. The Governor’s action was unfortunate, that was all. Governor’s action was not challenged.

The Chief Minister has made it clear that there is nothing unusual about the Governor issuing sanction disregarding the advice of the Cabinet.

Whatever be the sound and fury created by other members of the party, the official line that should be reckoned is the path taken by the Chief Minister.

What is the aim of other members of the Cabinet who have taken a stance questioning the action of the Governor?

Suppose the Chief Minister also challenged the action of the Governor. Could there be locus standi for V S Achuthanandan to continue as Chief Minister by challenging the Governor?

The CPM itself is dilly-dallying on the issue. Otherwise it could have organized a full sitting of the politburo and taken a clear line.

Now Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechuri and S Ramachandran Pillai are trying to seek the advice of nonagenarian leader Jyoti Basu.

The party is going ahead with business as usual. The politburo is meeting on June 19. Central Committee meeting will also follow. Perhaps the outcome would be the same as that taken earlier. The issue would be dealt with politically and legally.

Meanwhile, the case would go on. Pinarayi Vijayan would continue as state secretary of the party. It is yet to be known whether V S Achuthanandan’s demand for removal of Pinarayi from party post would be considered affirmatively.

There is demand for removal of Achuthanandan from the post of Chief Minister as well.

There would be mutual annihilation or mutual survival. Already posters have appeared against Achuthanandan in Thiruvananthapuram and against Pinarayi Vijayan in Delhi.

RSP Minister N K Premachandran has pointed out that his party has clear ideas about Lavalin and other issues. The party will move at the appropriate time.

CPI appears to be against removal of the Chief Minister. No doubt the LDF partners are not amused by the developments which have an overbearing effect on the political landscape.

In the circumstances, whatever good works done by the government are eclipsed by controversies.

No government would be successful unless the party, which formed it, it fully supports the entity.

Tackle Lavalin issue head-on


By O J George

Kottayam: CPM general secretary reached Delhi on Wednesday from Hyderabad after attending the state level meetings in Andhra Pradesh.

He would be rushing to Kolkata to participate in the meetings of the West Bengal state unit on Thursday.

In the breathing space, he had reached the headquarters of the party at Gole Market, Delhi.

As usual there might have been a meeting of the available members of the politburo on Wednesday.

Prakash Karat used to send out clear messages on various issues. But on Wednesday, he seemed to be evading the issues thrown at him by waiting mediapersons.

The capital media, including newspapers, had splashed news items about Kerala Governor R S Gavai giving sanction for prosecution of CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan in the SNC Lavalin case.

Prakash Karat has not been in Delhi when the Governor issued the sanction. Karat’s reaction has not been available to the media. Even now he is not reacting clearly.

Karat simply dismissed waiting mediapersons with a curt reply that the politburo had issued a statement.

The available politburo had not made the allegation that the Governor had acted in a partisan manner. It had not said the Governor’s decision was politically motivated.

It only observed that the decision of the Governor was unfortunate. Earlier, the PB had made it clear that Lavalin issue would be dealt with politically and legally.

Perhaps, the PB members would call on octogenarian leader Jyoti Basu and take his advice in Kolkata.

There is no meaning in running away from the real issue. The politburo would have to deal with the issue on June 19, when the full-fledged politburo meets in Delhi.

Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, whose views on the issue are well known, has already made it clear that the politburo would discuss the issue in detail. Another member M K Pandhe had said the PB would take it up if someone raises the issue.

But the issue having hotted up, the PB will have to take up the issue on its own.

There are dichotomies in the analysis of the issue by various CPM leaders.

V S Achuthanandan has pointed out that there is nothing surprising about the Governor’s decision.

There are precedents about Governors taking a different line than the advice of the Cabinet. The Supreme Court has also confirmed this view.

But Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had challenged the decision of the Governor.

He was irked by the fact that the decision of the Governor was not communicated to the government.

But close on the heels of the Home Minister conducting the Press conference, Raj Bhavan sent a copy of the order to the Chief Minister.

The Cabinet members are divided on the issue. It is not known whether the LDF partners would whole-heartedly support the views of Pinarayi Vijayan or V S Achuthanandan.

It was only because there was no unanimity in views on the issue that the Cabinet did not discuss the issue right away.

It would be in the best interest of the party and the government, and for maintenance of democratic norms, to take a clear decision whatever the consequences.

The CPM will not give up easily on Lavalin issue

By O J George

Kottayam: The CBI filed an application before Governor R.S.Gavai seeking sanction for prosecution of CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, who in his capacity as the-then Power Minister dealt with the SNC Lavalin company for renovation of three power stations.

Irregularities have been alleged in the deal. The CBI has found him responsible.

The Governor, in turn, sought the views of the government on the issue of sanction for prosecution.

The case was referred to Advocate-General C P Sudhakara Prasad, a party supporter. The AG in his opinion found that no sanction need be given for prosecution of Pinarayi. The AG also said Pinarayi was not guilty.

The AG’s opinion was forwarded to the Governor as the opinion of the government. The Governor sought the legal opinion from various other sources and ultimately gave his sanction for prosecution.

The government has not taken kindly to the action of the Governor.

Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan has not opposed the Governor’s action. But today Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has questioned the action of the Governor.

The ostensible objection was to the non-availability of the Governor’s sanction with the government.

The letter was given to the CBI and the media. Even after two days of issuing the order, the Governor did not give a copy to the government.

Kodiyeri argued that the Governor, if not in agreement with the advice of the Cabinet, should have returned the same to the Cabinet. It was for the Cabinet to reconsider the issue.

The action of the Governor in question was unconstitutional. The Governor should have informed the government on what basis he bypassed the advice of the government.

Also he should have cited the reasons for giving sanction for prosecution.

The government could not move further without getting the copy of the Governor’s sanction.

Within no time the Home Minister finished his press conference in which he bashed the Governor’s action, a copy of the sanction was made available to the Chief Minister.

That the CPM is not going to give up easily is highlighted by the fact that the same arguments are given out from various quarters at the same time.

LDF convener Vaikom Viswan also conducted a press conference using stronger words than the Home Minister against the Governor.

Minister A K Balan, who is close to Pinarayi Vijayan, has observed that groupism in the party was behind the exposure of the Lavalin issue.

Education Minister M A Baby has pointed out that Pinarayi Vijayan would not step down as party state secretary. Simultaneously, legal steps would be taken in this regard.


The coming days would witness loud protest from different quarters of the party owing allegiance to Pinarayi Vijayan.

However, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan had made it clear that the politburo would discuss the Lavalin issue in detail. The politburo is scheduled to meet on June 19.

There could be bitter arguments in the politburo for and against the ouster of Pinarayi Vijayan as state secretary of the party.

Earlier, the state secretariat had urged the central leadership to remove V S Achuthanandan from Chief Ministership.

Any way, the party is being buffeted severely by the Lavalin issue. This will not die down so easily. Concerted action is essential on the part of the party to come out of the confusion.

The winner undergoes changes, the loser remains stuck

By O J George

Kottayam: It is quite amusing to see the winner undergoing changes and the loser remaining stuck. I refer to Congress Party positions in Kerala poised for re-arrangements while the CPM positions disposed to remain status quo ante.

This is not at all an attempt to call for change or no change. For, the political parties themselves are the best judges for arriving at decisions based on ground realities.

At the same time, the people would be curious to know whether the present leadership of the Congress in the State would be replaced by another team to face the Assembly elections confidently two years from now.

Remember the LDF Government led by V S Achuthanandan has just observed its third anniversary but not celebrated it during May.

Ramesh Chennithala has reasons to gloat over the UDF win in the Lok Sabha elections. Could it be a better win if someone else comes to lead the party and the UDF during the Assembly elections in 2011?

Panchayat elections are due in 2010 when both the fronts, the LDF and the UDF, would have to sweat it out. Leadership counts in inspiring the electorate to tread particular paths.

Changes are the natural corollaries of occasions when vacancies have to be filled. The Congress Party has the distinction of finding replacements for organisational incumbents who have been elected MPs. Some of them have become Ministers.

Availability of vacancies of Governors also offer good opportunities for posting some aspirants. Certain people can be wheeled away from active politics, if they are given the post of Governor.

Leader K.Karunakaran knows it very well that his accepting the post of Governor would leave him away from active politics. He has always been preferring to remain vibrant even as he is getting old aged.

If there are replacements, would it be V M Sudheeran who takes up the post of KPCC president? If he leads the party to victory in 2011 Assembly elections, would he be a challenger to Oommen Chandy for Chief Ministership?

Will M M Hassan fit into the post of UDF convener, if P P Thankachen becomes the Governor somewhere? Former “I” group leaders may want a person of that category to grab the post.

All these and other replacements best depict the changes affecting the winner. But there does not seem to be changes in the losing front. Discussions to pinpoint reasons for the debacle are going on at various levels. It seems the LDF cannot afford to effect changes now. No one can be singled out for full responsibility for the poorest performance in the Lok Sabha elections.All were jointly and severally responsible. Therefore, let all of them remain and improve the performance unitedly.

Deep pentration, quick conception and easy delivery

By O J George

Kottayam: Kamala Surayya just created ripples in the society. I believe she could do so only because she was a woman of substance.

Just any woman cannot speak about eternal love, carnal love and the mind’s peccadilloes in a manner Kamala Surayya did.

She did all these things with poise because she was a woman of high calibre, a position she climbed up with incessant reading, assimilation and creation.

“A woman of deep penetration, quick conception and easy delivery”. That was a comment made about Annie Besant. This comment aptly applies to Kamala Surayya.

She was Madhavikkutty to readers of her Malayalam works, short stories and novelettes. She was Kamala Das to readers of her English works, including her autobiography, “My Story”.

An ordinary mortal would think she rebelled against captive wifedom, later she lived life as she liked, transcending orthodox family traditions, and that too coming from a known tharavad, she changed religion from Hinduism to Islam, which some alleged was for selfishness, etc.

Actually, her life was one of creativity, intellectualism and all-pervasive exposition of love. Maybe, she should have been possessed of the characteristics of Brahman, the way she loved all kinds of people.

When she switched her faith from Hinduism to Islam, many ordinary mortals who earlier adored her were on the vanguard of troubling her, humiliating her.

There was a hate campaign against her, about which she was worried.

The climactic exercise of malevolence by these elements forced her to shift residence from Kochi to Pune, where she breathed her last at the age of 75.

Justifiably, she is being given a State funeral. Her children have decided she should have a burial in accordance with the belief system she last clung on. So she would be buried at the Juma Masjid at Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram.

Before that, befittingly, there would be funeral procession from Kochi to Thrissur, back to Ernakulam and from there to Thiruvananthapuram via Alappuzha and Kollam.

People would be able to pay their last respects to her en route to her final resting place.

I respect all people who are endowed with awareness, reading, creativity and indepth intellectual transactions without looking into their creed, faith and political views.

She deserves the highest order of respect simply on account of her accomplishments.

Karuna should be proud of his children doing fine

By O J George

Kottayam: Our leader K.Karunakaran should take lessons from Kalaignar Dr Muthuvel Karunanidhi. For Karunanidhi should be quite proud of his children doing fine in politics.

M.K.Azhagiri, son through first wife is now Union Cabinet Minister. Recently he was held by the police for allegedly fomenting trouble in the Madurai region, where he was sent to build up the party.

Now he is Minister for Fertilisers and Chemicals.

M.K.Stalin, Karunanidhi’s son through his second wife, has been elevated as the Deputy Chief Minister in Karunanidhi’s Cabinet.

By now it has been made loud and clear that the mantle of Karunanidhi’s successor would fall on the 55-year-old Stalin.

Kanimozhi, Karunanidhi’s daughter through the third wife, an accomplished lady with erudition in literature, arts and politics, is Rajya Sabha MP.

There were reports that she was being appointed a Minister in the Union Cabinet. But Kanimozhi was magnanimous enough to keep off so that someone else in the party might be benefited.

For instance, Dayanidhi Maran, grand nephew of Karunanidhi, who was marginalised in DMK politics for a while as Karunanidhi wanted to teach a lesson to the Maran clan for disobeying his diktat, is now back in the reckoning. Maran made it clear that he would not stand on ceremony for getting a chosen portfolio. Ultimately he was game for keeping the textiles portfolio.

That was great blessing considering the fact that heavy-weights like T R Balu have been laid in the lurch. It seems Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not keen to keep Balu. Neither was A.Raja in the good books of the PM, but he managed to cling on owing to political considerations.

Anyway, Karunanidhi, who would celebrate his 86th birthday on June 3, has come full circle in his political life. He has bequeathed his accomplishments to his children. No one can challenge them, as the arrangements have been finalised as per the wishes of Kalaignar.

One should analyse the finesse with which Kalaignar achieved all this. No grumbling, no murmur from others. Everyone seems to be satisfied that he is looked after very well.

In Kerala, K.Karunakaran was quite successful for some time in grooming his children K.Muralidharan and Padmaja Venugopal to adorn positions in political life.

K.Muralidharan had even become the president of the state unit of Congress Party. And he had done well in the position he held for a brief while. His leaving this coveted post for ministership apparently threw a spanner in his political life. Now he is gasping for his breath in the NCP. Who knows, perhaps his time will also come to fruition. Politics is never static. It goes on churning in the pot. The product would be either Amrit or poison. It would be the lot of the protagonist, and his luck or lack of it.

Daughter Padmaja Venugopal also has not come up the way Karunakaran wanted. For things are a bit difficult in a national party like Congress vis-à-vis Dravidian parties like DMK and ADMK.

K.M.Mani of Kerala Congress (M) could succeed in enthroning son Jose.K.Mani as his successor. Now nobody would challenge it.

If the progenies do fine, and serve the people, no one can blame the progenitors for crowning their wards with what they have.

People expect too much from the CPM

By O J George

Kottayam: A setback for the CPM gets double attention because the people expect too much from the party which stands for ensuring social justice, equal opportunity and empowerment of the down-trodden.

People forget that the classic Communists are not there anywhere in the world, and there cannot be regeneration of any more Marx, Engels, Lenin, Che Guera, not even E M S Namboodiripad.

One may accost Fidel and Raul Castro, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and a few Africal varieties.

Jyoti Basu’s time is over in West Bangal and Kerala cannot have a new P Krishna Pillai. Times have changed. Text book Communism will not relapse.

But then, total rejection of the available variety will offer opportunities for the ultras emerging from the dejected lot, Like Naxalites, to have their sway. That is what is happening in more than half a dozen states elsewhere in the country.

Here in Kerala, V S Achuthanandan faction and Pinarayi Vijayan group are fighting it out among themselves, the former for a toe-hold in and the latter for complete control of the party.

They can only ensure mutual annihilation, but the people would not have any benefit out of it.

One cannot exist without the prevalence of the other. Because both are representatives of vast sections of the people. But the people themselves are a dejected lot now.

There is an anecdote in “ Ettamathe Mothiram” (The Eighth Ring) the autobiography of Malayala Manorama supremo K.M.Mathew about the rescue of the boat in which the family members were voyaging in Kuttanad, when he was a child.

The local people swung to action and salvaged the drowning boat. K M Mathew’s father thanked them and asked them, “Do you know who we are?”

The locals swiftly turned back and retorted. “We did what we should. What is it to us whoever you may be?” .

This was the same retort given to V S Achuthanandan, Pinarayi Vijayan, and Prakash Karat from Delhi in tow, in the Lok Sabha elections.

You may be arguing about in unending rounds of party meetings blaming each other for non-deliverance. People do not want justification for what has not been done. They want action to ameliorate their woes in the nick of time.
Philipose Mar Chrysostom Marthoma Valiyametropolitan once raised a question. What would the poor do if there were no Communists?

Mind you, the Communists had earned a niche in the minds of the people about doing something for ensuring social justice, fetching decent returns for the workers and the like.

Forget about their insistence on non-belief for party leaders, razing down cultivations in the name of protecting paddy fields, their wayward activists charging looking fee while others do loading and unloading, looking askance at the many workers engaging in illicit liquor trade in every nook and cranny.

But the compendious entity of the Communists had heralded a new era of rejuvenation of the society in which the poor extracted their rights from the haves, crass injustices in some cases notwithstanding.

It would be a historical blunder if V S Achuthanandan and Pinarayi Vijayan continue to fight it out among themselves for extraneous innings, presided over by Prakash Karat, leaving the people and the main aim of serving them, particularly the poor and the weak, in the lurch.

The leaf and the thorn will not writhe in pain

By O J George

Kottayam: CPM’s two-day state secretariat concluded yesterday, only for the three-day state committee to begin today.

CPM general secretary Prakash Karat has directed all concerned to abide by the guidelines issued by the politburo regarding election results review.

The review should not go beyond the election results and there should be no personal attacks against leaders.

Karat was doing a balancing act when he asked the state secretariat to include a bit about the cause of the debacle in the Lok Sabha elections. He found it fit to insert the finding of the politburo that the Lavalin issue and hastily hobnobbing with the PDP had created confusion.

Without this observation, the report prepared by state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan was all accusing fingers against Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan. His style of functioning, his different stance on Lavalin and PDP and apparent irreverence to the faction led by the party secretary were all debilitating factors.

Now Karat has asked Achuthanandan to call an end to the different posturing on Lavalin issue. By now it is clear that Achuthanandan wanted Pinarayi Vijayan to go through court proceedings. But no other leader is prepared to susbscribe to this view.

After the three-day state committee, there would be grand discussions at the politburo and central committee levels, commencing the exercise on June 19. By then, all state units of the CPM would have concluded their discussions.

The threadbare discussions and consequential corrections, if any, would consume the whole year.

And by then, the party machinery at all levels would have to be kept oiled for facing the panchayat elections to be held in Kerala next year.

No doubt, the LDF has equal chance to win in the panchayat and other local bodies’ elections. It would not be like near-total wiping as in the Lok Sabha polls.

Come panchayat elections, and the party would be revived. No heads will roll, all will be hunky dory.

The last laugh and other things

By O J George

Kottayam: It seems the CPM is concerned about the laughter of Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan. Not that the party is worried about the happy-go-lucky face of the old war-horse. But he made a mighty laugh on learning the info that the party stood demolished in the Lok Sabha elections.

Channels are vetting threadbare the body language, the tools of party communication and the like regarding Achuthanandan's last laugh.

The line-up of intellectuals, pro and con, is a mighty scene. Don’t we have anything else to mull over?

We have the hard facts before us. V S Achuthanandan was never the real party choice for chief ministership. Technically, the party made the decision at the eleventh hour to field him in the Assembly elections.

When he won, there was no choice, but to crown him Chief Minister. Then the modus operandi was to bridle him on every conceivable occasion. Even the political secretary and the personal staff assigned by the party have reportedly observed at the party for a that the Chief Minister cannot be depended upon.

The left democractic front has huge majority in the Assembly forum. The party is ruled over by his bete noire Pinarayi Vijayan. All efforts to corner Pinarayi Vijayan in the Lavalin case have failed. The last tool could be the Governor with whom various interests want Pinarayi Vijayan nailed. Governor R S Gavai is also dilly-dallying.

From the clarifications sought by him from the government as well as the CBI, it seems he has not given up the weapon of granting sanction to prosecute the Lavalin accused even as the advocate-general and the state government have said no.

It is a mystery how Achuthanandan survives in the face of this much of opposition for him in the party apparatus. During crucial times,the CPI would come to his rescue. If there is a plea for change of guard of administration, the CPI would oppose it at the LDF.

It is also another hard fact that Achuthanandan cannot continue with his modus operandi, if Pinarayi Vijayan is hunted out through the Lavalin conundrum.

Ultimately, this would end up like a game of one upmanship, without the attacks meeting the target point-blank.

Down in the dumps, now glamorous

By O J George

Politics has devious ways, leaders are merely sultans of the day. So celebrate when your time is good.

What would be a better example to project than the case of P J Joseph of Kerala Congress. He was down in the dumps for nearly three years, owing to an inappropriate behaviour case. This was not even a sex scandal. Media had blown the issue out of proportions.

He lost his Ministership within 100 days of assuming office. Most of the party associates and the general public at large loathed him. However, he continued to be chairman of the party only because no one could remove him from the post, as the party is solely his.

Now the court in Sriperumbudur, Chennai, has absolved him of the charge, which was that he caught hold of the breast of a woman passenger sitting in the front row from behind. The court found that there was no evidence to prove the charge.

The twist of destiny could be gauged. P C Thomas, whom P J Joseph gave accommodation when no one else was there to take him owing to his hobnobbing with the BJP, almost deserted him.

Thomas formed his own farmers’ conglomeration. He, and a few followers he had, stopped attending party meetings.

Now when the verdict is out, suddenly everyone is cozying himself up to P J Joseph. Dr K C Joseph faction had been pulling strings to see Joseph’s downfall. With the support of powerful outsiders, Mons Joseph was made the Minister in place of P J Joseph. This group never wanted Joseph to return absolved.

Now the moment Joseph is acquitted, there is a hue and cry about showing allegiance. Mons Joseph will not wait one moment to give way for Joseph. PC Thomas, Surendran Pillai and others are all agreeable to Joseph returning to power as Minister.

It was honourable of the Oppposition not to have made any adverse comment against Joseph.

People would always be there when you have power. They will desert you and snub you when you are in trouble. If you emerge powerful again, they would toe your line unabashedly.

One more hartal, horrifying for people

By O J George

Thursday witnessed one more hartal, or stoppage of activities, in Kerala for political reasons.

It threw normal life out of gear. There were no transports. KSRTC buses were stoned at many places in the State.

Some of the activists who blocked traffic were arrested by the police.Shops and commercial establishments remained shut.

An activist was taken into custody from the district office of the Congress Party in Kochi.

Private buses were off the road, two-wheelers and stray cars were seen plying.

Mercifully, other tragedies did not occur as of now.

Powerful people can escape the dragnet of the law. They cannot be proceeded against in accordance with the law. For, they can plug the loop-holes anywhere.

CPM state secretary and former Power Minister Pinarayi Vijayan may not be guilty. But that has to be proved in a court of law, according to Congress leaders.

CBI has found charges against him, but it can charge-sheet him only if the Governor accords sanction. The Governor has sent the CBI’s letter to the government, which sent it to the advocate-general. The AG has said there is no need for prosecution. Not only that, he has totally absolved Pinarayi Vijayan.

The cabinet has approved the line of the AG and sent it to the Governor, who is not bound by the advice of the government. But will he take the risk of overshooting the advice of the cabinet? That is a million-dollar question, an answer for which is due on any day now.

This much of action has precipitated Thursday’s hartal. It seems there is no other avenue to register political parties’ protest. Anyway people are the sufferers.

V S Achuthanandan a mute spectator

By O J George

Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan remains a mute spectator to the goings-on in the SNC Lavalin case as his party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has taken all precautions to save its state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, the ninth accused in the case.

The party is fully controlled by Pinarayi Vijayan, who is supported by national general secretary Prakash Karat.

The CBI has accused Pinarayi Vijayan in the Lavalin case along with others, but the CPM is not game for even trying it in court. It squarely blames the CBI for fabricating a politically motivated case.

The party had from the very beginning stood by Pinarayi Vijayan. Even before Governor R.S.Gavai sought the state government’s opinion, the party swung into action and told the Chief Minister not to do any mischief.

The party wanted the issue to be referred to advocate-general C.P.Sudhakara Prasad, a political appointee, and not to the Law Department of the government.

Now Sudhakara Prasad has given a clean chit to Pinarayi Vijayan and others. The party secretariat has asked the Chief Minister to give this line in reply to the Governor’s query.

Of course, the Governor has his discretion to act in any manner he thinks fit.He would take legal opinion on his own.

Meanwhile, chief secretary K J Mathew has taken ill and is hospitalised. It is not likely that the Lavalin case can be taken up at the next meeting of the cabinet.

If the Governor takes his own decision to give sanction for prosecution, the party will approach the Supreme Court against prosecution.

The Chief Minister of a party like the CPM is in fetters. He cannot act freely, but the party will determine what he should do in matters small and profound.