ASSEMBLY POLL '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS '98
ARCHIVES

LDF rift widens in Kerala

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

Some constituents of the ruling Left Democratic Front coalition in Kerala, upset by what they claim is the domineering attitude of the Communist Party of India-Marxist which heads the government, has begun to assert themselves.

The Communist Party of India and the Revolutionary Socialist Party have launched an attack on the CPI-M's plan to involve the people in administration.

The two parties claimed the CPI-M was making the much-lauded campaign look like a party affair and gain political mileage from it. The attack by the two major ruling front constituents just exposes the differences between the CPI-M and its partners on various issues.

The RSP has already asked its workers to fight against the CPI-M's authoritarianism and to strengthen the party's base. The announcement was made as part of a political resolution the party prepared for discussion at its 15th all-India conference. The party complained it was not getting the treatment it deserved in the LDF coalition. The CPI-M was not even willing to treat the RSP as a Marxist party, the resolution added.

"While the RSP was emphasising the need for building Left unity as the third alternative, both the CP1-M and the CPI were trying to ensure Left and democratic unity. The concept the RSP had about class character of the Indian state was fundamentally different from that of CPI-M, the party said.

The open criticism of its plan has embarrassed the CPI-M, particularly since the opposition Congress has been making the same charge against the government.

Meanwhile, both the aggrieved coalition partners believe the CPI-M had allowed the Planning Board, allegedly packed with its men, to function as a "super cabinet".

CPI state secretary Veliyam Bhargavan said the Planning Board had no right to dictate matters related to the campaign for public involvement in administration since the board is not represented by all coalition partners. He said the board was running the campaign without involving the masses and demanded that it be immediately reconstituted with representation from all LDF partners.

The CPI lost a representative in the board when its nominee, Shyamasundran Nair, was appointed vice-chancellor of the Kerala Agricultural University. The CPI-M refused to appoint another CPI representative, claiming the Planning Board was not constituted with political considerations in mind.

The CPI said the decentralised planning in the state has so far failed to get support from the masses due to the Planning Board's partisan approach. He alleged that the Board's decisions were unilateral and that it had imposed decisions on bodies elected by the people. This was one factor keeping the people away from the projects they were expected to participate in.

CPI-M politburo member and LDF convenor V S Achutanandan denied the allegations and rejected the CPI demand for reconstitution of the Planning Board, claiming its members were picked on the basis of their abilities.

He felt that instead of raising their apprehensions openly, they could have discussed them in appropriate fora, like the LDF state committee. He said the CPI and RSP had violated the principles of coalition set-up.

He also refuted another CPI allegation, that the Planning Board vice chairman I S Gulati was a CPI-M supporter, was unfounded because Gulati had been brought to Kerala by late CPI leader M N Govindan Nair.

The CPI-M leader also took the opportunity to attack two CPI ministers -- those managing revenue and agriculture -- for not relinquishing some of their powers to village panchayats. Those who weren't sincerely implementing the policy of decentralisation of power had no right to criticise the CPI-M for lapses in the implementation of the panchayat raj system, he said.

Achutanandan said the CPI leader was only echoing the sentiments of some officials who were against decentralisation of power.

The Congress, meanwhile, is quite satisfied with the open criticism of the CPI-M by the two important ruling coalition constituents. Former party general secretary M M Hassan said the fact that two coalition members had publicly criticised the CPI-M had vindicated the charges the Congress had raised.

He said the government had accused his party of trying to scuttle the programme when the Congress had pointed out the errors in it.

Hasssan said the statements by the CPI and RSP clearly proved that it was not only the opposition Congress that was being kept out of the campaign, but also the constituents of the ruling front.

Tell us what you think of this report