People's Democracy

Ensure Continuity of LDF Rule

Pinarayi Vijayan

THE poll schedule for the election of 13th Kerala Assembly has been announced and the voting is scheduled on 13th April 2011. The CPI(M)-led Left and Democratic Front (LDF) faces the election with a significant track record of outstanding achievements that the  LDF government accomplished during the last five years of its tenure. The opposition, the Congress-led UDF coalition is mainly depending on the malicious campaigns unleashed by the rightist media in the state for its electoral prospects.  Despite the BJP claims of opening its ‘account’ in the state assembly during every elections, it had never been able to ensure its presence in the House thanks to the vigilance of the Left forces in the state.  It is to be noted that in the last election, the LDF came to power with a sweeping majority and had bagged 100 seats out of the total 140 assembly segments.

During the earlier UDF regime, farmer suicides were very common and the media were filled up almost daily with such grief-stricken episodes. Around 1500 farmers had committed suicide throughout Kerala during that period. In Wayanad district alone, nearby 500 cases of farmer suicides had been reported. The UDF government was ruthlessly insensitive towards such an appalling state of affairs and did nothing to avert the devastating situation. On the contrary, the LDF government, immediately after assuming power, announced write-off of all debts of the farmers who had committed suicide and declared a moratorium on agricultural debts for a period of six months. It formed a Farmers Debt Relief Commission to ensure relief to debt-ridden farmers before the expiry of the moratorium. Subsequently, such measures instilled in the famers a sense of confidence and thus put an end to their suicides. 

CONTRASTING

APPROACH

All the welfare pension schemes were sabotaged by the UDF regime. It had never thought of making even a meager increase in the welfare pensions.  The LDF on the contrary distributed all the pension dues that the previous government made. During the last five years, even though the election manifesto of the LDF had offered an increase of 90 rupees, the LDF government made a significant increase from Rs 110 to Rs 400 per month. Apart from various other measures to encourage paddy cultivation, the LDF government also increased the procurement price of paddy from seven rupees to fourteen rupees. Such interventions resulted in the rejuvenation of the agricultural sector in the state. More over the debt relief scheme has extended to fishermen and the SC/ST sections also.

The unprecedented price rise and the question of food security are two vital questions that the country currently confronts. However the central government is reluctant to find a way out to resolve the menace of price rise. Rather, its neo liberal policies, including raising the prices of petroleum products, add fuel to the burning situation. In contrast, the LDF government in Kerala consistently intervened in the market with wideranging measures to provide relief to the people. It is providing 14 essential commodities through the public distribution system at highly subsidised rates. While the central government dismantles the universal ration system, the LDF government is universalising the rationing and ensuring supply of rice for all at two rupees per kilogram. The election manifesto of the LDF had only offered to give rice at two rupees per kilogram only to the BPL families!

Under the EMS total housing scheme, more than 4 lakh houses were built  and work on the remaining houses is under progress. Kerala in the near future would become the first state in the country that provides homes for all. Even four years ago, no one had expected to ensure electricity in all houses in Kerala. A total electrification campaign has already beem unleashed and more than 100 assembly constituencies are declared as total electrified constituencies. Within six months, there won’t be a single house in Kerala without electricity. The LDF government lifted the ban on recruitment in the government services imposed by the previous UDF regime. Around 1,75,000 new appointments were made in the government service alone during the tenure of present LDF government. While the UDF government slashed 13,600 posts in the government service, the LDF government has created 31,000 new posts in the government service.

The neo-liberal agenda of the central government paved way for the dismantling of the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). In Kerala also during the UDF regime, the centre’s policy of privatising PSUs was vigorously executed and a committee was constituted with that objective. The committee had recommended that most of the PSUs must be privatised and listed out many of them to sell out. As a result of the UDF government's  policies, 32 out of the 37 PSUs were loss making. The LDF government’s ardent attempt altered the pathetic state of affairs in the industrial sector, and today the PSUs have an entirely different tale to tell.  All the PSUs in the state have become profit making and 8 new PSUs were set up using the profits that the PSUs made!

THRUST ON IT,

TOURISM & INFRA

The second international congress on Kerala studies, organised by the AKG center for research and studies in 2006, had called for giving special attention to IT and tourism sectors in Kerala given the various peculiarities that exist in the state, including geographical specificities, lack of vast acres of land for big industries, availability of skilled and educated manpower etc. Numerous IT projects were realised during the last four and half years, including the Kochi cyber city. Many techno parks have been set up even in rural areas during this period. The Info Park, which the UDF government had agreed to transfer to the Dubai Company to set up the Smart City, has been retained in the public sector. Around 8000 new employment opportunities were ensured in the Info Park by enlarging the IT Park. The government signed the Smart City agreement by protecting the interests of the state. As a result of the ardent interventions of the LDF government, there is considerable growth in the IT sector and it is reflected in the fact that  the area of the IT industries has increased from 18.9 lakh square feet to 76.1 lakh square feet during this period. Infrastructure development is very crucial for the overall development and during the last five years Rs 5000 crore was spent for the development of roads alone.

The financial management of the LDF government has been widely appreciated, including by its political opponents. During the UDF regime, treasury ban was a common phenomenon in Kerala. During the first year of the UDF regime, the treasury was closed for 222 days, in second year for 196 days, in third year for 178 days, in fourth year for 161 days and during the fifth year up to May, the treasury was closed for 80 days. But during the LDF period, the government had neither taken any overdraft nor closed the treasury for even a single day. The government revenue has increased from Rs 7000 crore to Rs 16,000 crore, and that too without increasing any existing taxes or introducing any  new taxes.

The LDF election manifesto had promised to strengthen the public education and health sectors in the state. The health and education sectors in Kerala, which had attained momentum in the past, had deteriorated thanks to the UDF government’s policies. Now during the LDF regime, these sectors have regained their past prestige and conquered new heights under the LDF government. During the UDF government Rs 790 crore was spent on education, which under the LDF regime increased now to Rs 2296 crore. The LDF government also tried to address the gender and environmental questions through concrete measures. In order to address these vital questions, green budgeting and gender budgeting has been implemented and this ensured concrete projects in these areas. A separate women’s development department has been established in the state. Kerala is the first state that reserved 50 per cent seats for women in the local bodies. During the UDF regime numerous sex scandal cases were reported and none of them were properly investigated. The law and order situation was under peril. During that period, there were instances of 121 communal clashes and 18 people were killed and 72 police firings had taken place.The law and order situation improved dramatically under the LDF regime. It can be stated with authority that whatever promises the LDF made in the last elections, have been accomplished during the last five years. In fact, it has delivered more than it had promised. 

The remarkable achievements of the LDF government during the last four years has resulted in a situation where even the opposition could not make any genuine criticism on the government's functioning. However, even after accomplishing such fabulous achievements, the LDF could not win in the last Lok Sabha and local body elections. It is also a fact that the LDF government could not ensure the appreciation of all sections to such a government that really deserved it.  The UDF and certain vested sections with the aid of the rightwing media unleashed wideranging malicious campaign against the LDF. It seeks to bury all the achievements of the LDF government under their dubious campaign unleashed by such media.

The CPI(M) in its Lok Sabha election review identified certain shortcomings and hence decided to address certain questions so far as the governmental function is concerned, which was implemented subsequently. The Party also decided to prepare for the Assembly elections immediately after the local bodies election and consequently the entire rank and file of the Party is prepared for the forthcoming election. Numerous agitations, with massive participation, were organised during this period against central government policies that resultant in the unprecedented price rise. The human chain organised against the Indo-ASEAN free trade agreement was widely appreciated by all sections. The LDF has already organised two state level jathas and lakhs of people attended at various centers to receive these jathas.

Earlier, the UDF had also organised a Kerala mochana yatra led by the opposition leader. When the yatra reached Kozhikode district, further  evidences of a sex scandal came out in which one of the yatra leader and a former minister was involved. The former minister’s close relative and co-accused revealed how the notorious sex scandal case was being sabotaged using money power and exposed evidences of the former UDF minister’s involvement in the sex scandal case.  It is to be noted that all these facts were revealed by a Malayalam channel headed by a Muslim League state leader and former minister. After the disclosure, the yatra had to be stopped for some days and immediately after it restarted, another leader of the yatra was sent to jail by the Supreme Court in a corruption case. The UDF was so eager to protect and justify such corrupt leaders and even organised reception programmes to felicitate the convicts. The state vigilance has already filed its report against some other former ministers also in corruption charges. Another former minister and the UDF leader, an accused in the Palmolien case, revealed that the opposition leader is more responsible in the notorious Palmolien deal. The UDF leadership after its success in the previous consecutive elections was so confident about winning the Assembly election. However with the recent exposes, it is becoming desperate and in its desperation spitting lies and ridiculously making allegations against the LDF.

It is an irrefutable fact that the LDF government in Kerala has proved how a Left-led government can ensure maximum relief to the people even in a bourgeois system and that too at a time when the central government vigorously implements the neo liberal policies. The CPI(M) programme vividly asserts “Even while keeping before the people the task of dislodging the present ruling classes and establishing a new democratic State and government based on the firm alliance of the working class and the peasantry, the Party will utilise the opportunities that present themselves of bringing into existence governments pledged to carry out a programme of providing relief to the people and strive to project and implement alternative policies within the existing limitations”. The performance of the LDF government in Kerala is indubitably on the basis of such a programmatic understanding.

During the last four and half years, the LDF government reinstated and revamped all the sectors that were sought to be sabotaged by the former UDF government. It can proudly claim today that no one is left out from the welfare schemes and plans of the LDF government in the state. Thus it is extremely significant to ensure continuity of the LDF rule in Kerala so as to strengthen the progress and development of the state, ensuring social justice and certainly the people of Kerala are prepared for it.

Contrasting  Expenditures

Awards Galore

The Kerala state, under the LDF regime, has bagged numerous national awards instituted by the central government. The awards pertained to the achievements in the following:

·         Effective decentralisation.

·         Best law and order situation

·         Three awards for excellent performance in the field of drinking water supply

·         Effectively implementing the SSA project up to the Upper Primary level

·         Energy conservation projects

·         Cleaning standards

·         Effective implementation of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana and Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme

·         ‘My tree’ Project and for making green coverage outside the forest area.

·         Introducing single window system in higher secondary admission.

·         Developing software

·         Three awards for E-Governance in the department of taxes

·         26 awards in the tourism sector