Kerala Politics at an All Time Low

Politics in Kerala had been different always in comparison with other states. A state, which boasts of its high social indicators and development, Kerala also used to pride itself on the array of great politicians the state has contributed to the society at large. But of late things have changed, matters have worsened and political conscience has waned.

To its credit, Kerala always had efficient politicians crowning different positions in the national scene. May it be VK Krishna Menon, the Defence Minister in the Nehru Government, AK Gopalan, the Opposition Leader in the first Indian Parliament, KR Narayanan; the Tenth President of the Indian Republic, or AK Antony, present Defence Minister of India, the list will go on. But recently there has been a terrible decline in the conduct of politicians from Kerala that has become an indelible stigma for the state and its people.

Two instances of politicians, and that too Ministers getting involved in charges of outraging the modesty of a woman were reported in the recent years. In one instance the woman involved was a senior officer of the IAS cadre. That makes it a very serious issue, which could send the message to the society that even an IAS officer is not safe in her office and could even has to face such ludicrous behavior from the ministers. Hardly did people come out of this shocking revelation that they were made to listen to another of such incidence that involved another Minister and his dastardly act in a private airlines en route to Chennai. Legal enquiry is still going on in this case and it would be absolutely naïve to presume that the Minister in question has committed the crime. But anyways these are certainly signs of declining decency in the political field of Kerala.

Corruption in politics is a universal phenomenon and Kerala is no exception. The disclosure of two big and tainted financial deals done by the CPI (M) party members has taken corruption to another level in Kerala. The subsequent violent protest by the student and youth organizations affiliated to CPI (M) viz. SFI and DYFI against the newspaper Mathrubhumi, which has revealed the corruption episode, is a dark episode in the history of democracy in India and also a malevolent attack on the freedom of speech and expression. There was also an occasion where the same organizations had a protest march against the newspaper in which they shouted slogans threatening the life of the employees of that newspaper. Legal actions should be taken against the leaders of such organizations and they should not be allowed to make such malicious attempts again in the future.

Group politics is also not a new thing for Kerala politics. It always made headlines in Malayalam newspapers and when it was in the Congress (I) there were always colorful stories for the newspapers to publish and for the public to mull over. Nasty comments made by rival groups used to flood the pages of the newspapers and other magazines. The expulsion of K.Karunakaran from the party signaled the end of group politics in Congress (I), at least for the time being. Hardly did that end, group politics started to appear in CPI (M).Now vernacular newspapers are pretty busy reporting the same and are pretty successful in doing so as well. Wherever the truth lies about it, there is no one denying the fact that Group politics has brought disgrace to politics in Kerala.

One of the most important ingredients required for the efficient working of Democracy is a strong opposition party in the legislature. At this time Kerala is facing a deficiency of the same and it is hampering the proficient working of the democratic set up of the state. Inability of the opposition to constructively criticize the actions of the Government and beneficially indulge in their policy decisions is a big reason for the decline in the rate of overall development of the state. Healthy discussions in the Legislative Assembly on policy issues of the government have become things of the past. Unwanted boycotting of the legislature by the opposition party on small issues is tantamount to making fun of the legislative system and is like making mockery of the trust assigned by the common people on the legislative members.

Lamenting on the worse condition of Kerala politics alone doesn’t make much sense. Instead it is the moral responsibility of the youth and the younger generation to make amends in the present condition and move forward in building a scenario where justice is done to all, democracy is working at its best and politics is less of tainted money, treacherous politicians and immoral ministers. It is always better late than never and here it is the right time for all who believes in democracy and truth to come together and fight for the betterment of the state, the society and the country as a whole.