People's Democracy

ON February 24, the vice president of India unveiled a metal statue of late Comrade E M S Namboodiripad, one of the founder leaders of the communist movement, at a new park built in front of the new legislature complex at Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala. The statue was cast by famous artist Kanayi Kunjiraman who said he had had to go through thousands of photographs of EMS to get the features fixed in his mind, though he had earlier met EMS several times. A day before the statue was unveiled, EMS’ wife and family visited the place and expressed satisfaction with its features, etc. They said the statue perfectly expressed the ideological convictions of a social reformer cum communist leader, and the importance of ideas and the movement.

ALONG with all other opposition parties, the Congress(I) has failed to represent itself with an affidavit before the judicial commission inquiring into the liquor tragedy that took place last October. The last date for filing affidavits with the commission was February 19, but the Congress(I) and other opposition parties did not care about the inquiry. This is strange because these parties had vociferously demanded a judicial commission with a sitting High Court judge and the LDF government had to undergo unusual procedures to get a sitting judge from Karnataka. This vindicated the LDF government’s sincerity. But the Congress(I) and the UDF it leads have now shirked the responsibility of being parties to the inquiry into the liquor tragedy which resulted in 36 deaths and deprived several others of their eyesight or their physical ability to work.

ON February 21, a batch of Youth Congress workers held a march to the Neyyattinkara police station, and attacked the police personnel and the building there. They also heavily damaged three state transport buses and a waiting shed built by the DYFI.

On February 23, a well-armed RSS gang attacked the CPI(M) branch committee members at Kallooppara in Pathanamthitta district. Four of the members suffered wounds and were hospitalised. The gang heavily damaged the house at which the committee was meeting. The real reason for the attack seems to be the CPI(M) unit’s stiff opposition to the illicit liquor trade that was going on in the area with full RSS patronage.

ON February 23, the LDF government adopted a new liquor policy, eliminating all kinds of private business from this field. The sale of Indian manufactured liquor will now be the monopoly of state institutions like the Beverages Corporation, Civil Supplies Corporation and consumer federations. Toddy shops will be left to the cooperatives of toddy tapping and sales personnel. This new policy is to come into effect from the next financial year. The government also assured protection for the workers in this field who are registered members of the workers’ welfare board.

ON February 23, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) announced detailed programmes of its six regional campaign jathas from February 25 to March 5. The jathas will move through various assembly constituencies, and explain in detail the devastating effects of the new economic policies of the central government. They will also explain the LDF’s alternative polices and programmes that assure regular economic development with full justice to the people, social development through massive decentralisation of power and planning, and real empowerment of people at grass-roots level.

On the same day, chief minister E K Nayanar expressed his firm belief that the people of Kerala will re-elect the LDF with a bigger majority in view of their experience of the last five years, especially in view of the local and general development schemes and works at an unprecedented level. The Kerala government has achieved the plan targets in spite the step-motherly attitude of the central government. Kerala has achieved 95 per cent of plan targets against the national average of 78 per cent. Nayanar said the state government could have still better achievements if there were enough investment from the central government and central financial institutions. He added that the state government faced much financial difficulty due to the centre’s discriminatory policies.

ON February 17, LDF convenor and CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, V S Achuthanandan, strongly protested the central government’s proposal to impose 30 per cent tax on payments from provident fund deposits of the workers and government employees. He said the proposal was highly unjust as the provident fund of employees is the deposit of a part of their wages and the employees withdraw money from it only in compelling circumstances. The proposal to tax such withdrawals to discourage the employees has no justification and will be a hard blow to the fixed income groups. He said the centre must not to think of taxing the employees but concentrate on realisation of crores of rupees due as tax and loan arrears from industrialists, businessmen and others.

ON February 17, state CPI(M) secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said here at Thiruvananthapuram that the party had taken its first step towards the coming assembly elections with the deliberations at the state committee meeting on February 15 and 16. The state committee has finalised its election tactics and the list of its candidates. Vijayan said the party is quite proud of having completed the step before other parties in the state could do so. He also asserted that the Congress(I)-led UDF is not in a position to defeat the LDF. Vijayan was speaking after the inauguration of the EMS Bhavan, new office building of the Thiruvananthapuram district committee of the Kerala School Teachers Association. EMS and his family resided in this building for some time. On renovation, the building has now been dedicated to the memory of EMS.

A NUMBER of government departments concerned with national security, those concerned with law and order and those with fishermen’s welfare were on an alert on receipt of the news about the presence of an American ship on the high seas near Kerala. The ship is said to be loaded with tonnes of atomic waste, and its dumping near the Kerala coast will have serious consequences for all kinds of life in the sea and in nearby areas. The fishing harbours in the state have been put on alert and the matter reported to the central authorities.

THE Kerala state conference of SFI concluded at Thiruvalla on February 26, with a massive procession and meeting addressed by E K Nayanar, Kerala chief minister. A major decision of the conference was to widen and strengthen the struggle against commercialisation and communalisation of education and to have a programme of intense discussions with all classes on social and educational matters, with full cooperation from and involvement of teachers and professors. Puthalath Denesan and M B Rajesh were elected the new state SFI president and general secretary.

E K Nayanar, in his inaugurated speech, said the government of Kerala has some financial difficulties because of its emphasis on development schemes to benefit the ordinary and poor people of the state. He asked the student community to work earnestly to make the LDF victorious in the coming elections, thereby enabling it to continue pushing forward its policy of democratisation of administration by decentralisation of power and empowerment of panchayats and the people.

THE productivity of paddy in the state has increased to 3,636 kilograms per hectare, which is above the national average, and the aim of the next five year plan will be to achieve a productivity of 5,000 kilograms per hectare. Also, the scheme to develop the local collectives for intensive production of vegetables has made both material and social gains throughout the state.

ON February 26, the union defence minister formally inaugurated the construction work of a naval academy at Ezhimala in Kannur district, assuring that the academy will start working within two years. It may be noted that Ezhimala in Kannur was selected for the establishment of a naval academy after repeated surveys of a number of centres in 1987 and the state government too provided the required land for the academy. But the project was later ignored because of the centre’s generally step-motherly attitude towards Kerala though it was of utmost importance for defence. However, the work has again started now because of continued pressure of the CPI(M) MPs from the state.

ON February 26, Kerala fisheries minister T K Ramakrishanan declared that the fishermen in Kerala will have a bonus from the next Onam festival. He was inaugurating the drinking water scheme for fishermen at Kozhikkode, built at a cost of Rs 12 crore. The minster also declared that the financial assistance to fishermen for house construction has now been increased from Rs 30,000 to 40,000. A wireless communication scheme for fishermen has been commenced on experimental basis and will be extended to the entire sea coast of the state. This will help the fishermen to spot exact places of availability of fish and to convey their request for help in case of any dangerous situations while at sea.

AT a press conference held at Thiruvananthapuram, February 27, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member V S Achuthanandhan described as false the allegations labeled by K P P Nambiar, as part of a conspiracy in league with the United Democratic Front (UDF) to malign the CPI(M) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in view of the coming assembly elections. K P P Nambiar had sponsored a power project at Kannur with technical and financial collaboration with Enron. The Kerala government later decided to have no truck with Enron because of the Dabhol experience of Maharashtra government.

Nambiar had alleged that a friend of Achuthanandhan’s son had offered that the government accept the scheme in lieu of a fee as a percentage of the total outlay of the project and that the project was declined because of his refusal to pay the commission. Achuthanandhan said Nambiar’s allegations were due to his desperation on the rejection of the project in collaboration with the Enron. Nambiar is also desperate as his request to drop a vigilance inquiry was not considered by the government.

Achuthanandhan further said his son and his friend may take the matter to the court. Nambiar had earlier raised this allegation at the time of panchayat elections.

The CPI(M) state secretariat also said these allegations were quite baseless and politically motivated. Nambiar was actually preparing a trap for the state government to promise power purchase at Enron’s terms, but the LDF decided to decline the project. (INN)