P. Sreekumaran
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Nava Kerala Sadas, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government’s public outreach programme, has got off to a flying start.
The huge turnout at the inaugural session of the people-friendly programme in Kasaragod is an indication of its popularity. The programme aims at reaching out to the people to address their concerns and find solution to their problems. The CM and his ministers would visit all the 140 constituencies in the State along with a team of bureaucrats. The petitions and complaints of the people will be received by the team and solutions found in the shortest possible time.
The icing on the cake was the presence of N A Aboobacker, a member of the State Council of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which is a major constituent of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). Aboobacker shared the staged with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the morning session of the Sadas on Sunday. What makes his presence significant is that Aboobacker made it to the programme, defying a directive from the IUML that no leader of the UDF would attend the Government’s programme. The IUML leader said the collaborative effort of the ministers would benefit the region in a big way.
An embarrassed IUML leadership has threatened to take action against Aboobacker. IUML district president Kallatra Maheen Haji said Aboobacker had not sought the party’s permission before attending the Sadas. The party leadership will seek his explanation and a decision will be taken after considering his response, Haji added.
Aboobacker’s presence has to be seen against the backdrop of the growing bonhomie between the CPI(M) and the IUML. An example of this IUML-CPI(M) chemistry was the recent nomination of IUML MLA P. Abdul Hameed to the director board of the Kerala Bank. IUML state general secretary PMA Salam went on record that Aboobacker was not a an office-bearer of any party forum.. He was removed long ago. If that is the case, then why threaten him with action? There is no answer to that question.
Inaugurating the Sadas, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the people had embraced the programme wholeheartedly. The massive crowd that thronged its venue was eloquent proof of its acceptance, the Chief Minister added. Ignoring the opposition’s efforts to topple the Nava Kerala Sadas, the people have rejected the combined attempts of the opposition and the anti-Left media.
The Government has been able to achieve a lot. But it continues to face severe financial constraints because of the hostile attitude of the Union Government, which is bent upon destroying the federal nature of the country, the CM stressed. “Under these circumstances, the Opposition should have stood by the Government. Unfortunately, they have taken this opportunity to settle political scores” by deciding to boycott the laudable initiative.
Referring to Aboobacker’s presence, Pinarayi said such collaborations were natural, describing them as a common occurrence. He also sympathized with the MLAs belonging to the opposition parties who could not attend the programme because of political compulsions.
The choice of Manjeswaram for the inauguration of the programme is also politically significant. Expectedly, the Manjeswaram MLA, who belongs to the UDF, stayed away; so did other UDF leaders, obviously under strict instructions from the top leadership. But the people of the constituency responded in a most enthusiastic manner by being present in large numbers.
An interesting sidelight of the Sadas was the address by Maharashtra businessman Vijay Aggarwal, who announced his decision to invest in Kasaragod industrial park. The choice was between Gujarat and Kerala, Agarwal said, adding that he opted for Kerala on the advice of his friends who said the State has become investor-friendly.
Another proof, if proof were needed, of the Sadas’s popularity and acceptance has come from the enquiries made by Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh Governments about its details. Both the States seem ready to send delegations to Kerala to study the programme in detail and explore the possibilities of implementing it in their states. (IPA )
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