V. S. ACHUTHANANDAN
How crucial is the Lok Sabha election for the progressive and democratic forces in the country? Our attempt at the national level is to create a non-Congress, non-BJP alternative which can restore sovereignty to the country’s economic and foreign policies and guarantee governance on the basis of secular principles. When we set out to achieve this goal, nobody was willing to believe us. But now that both the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance have begun to disintegrate, everybody is being forced to accept that we were right.
What will be Kerala’s contribution to this effort? We expect to contribute our mite by winning a sizeable number of seats in the State. As compared to governments headed by regional parties or the Congress or the BJP, the LDF government was able to do much for the people during the last two-and-a-half years. When we came to power, the State had already witnessed suicide by some 1,500 debt-ridden farmers. We were able to initiate a host of measures that brought an end to farmer suicides whereas in places such as Vidarbha in Congress-ruled States, farmers are still committing suicide in large numbers.
We raised the procurement price of paddy from Rs. 7 to Rs. 11 in stages, made rice available to both BPL and APL families at Rs. 13 a kilo, increased paddy productivity by 30 per cent, made interest-free loans available to both paddy growers and fisherfolk, reopened closed public sector units and revived some by integrating them with Central public sector undertakings. We have now announced in the budget a scheme to provide rice at Rs. 2 a kilo to BPL and APL families. People have all this before them.
But the focus of the campaign is mostly about the turbulence in the LDF over sharing of seats and the tie-up with the PDP? The seat sharing exercise did result in strains in the alliance. Initially, there was a dispute with the CPI, but we were able to find a mutually acceptable solution. However, we could not arrive at any similar understanding with the Janata Dal (Secular). That we could not do so is regrettable because Janata Dal has been our ally for over 30 years now.
We are still trying to strengthen our unity. Although there have been schisms, we are sure we will able to overcome all that. I don’t want to say that we could do everything perfectly, but you must understand that a concerted attempt is on in the State to divert attention from the government’s good deeds and its achievements.
In the case of PDP, there is every justification for efforts to reform the party and help it correct its past mistakes. When Abdul Nasir Maudany was in jail, the government had adopted an inhuman attitude towards him. The attempt of the BJP and the RSS has been to pin him down to extremist positions whereas the efforts of others have been to wean them away from that path.
The CPI(M) has no alliance with the PDP. Nor have they asked for it. All that the CPI(M) has done is not to reject the PDP’s offer of support for the LDF.
I will not claim that we have not erred, but it is not right to exaggerate the minor failings and divert attention from the principled stand of the Left or the achievements of its government in Kerala.
