365 Days of Pitfalls & Errors

“All will be set right” was the slogan they blared when they sat on the chair of power. And thus the LDF completed a year on the power chair. However political analysts and citizens are sceptical- how can Pinarayi Vijayan steer towards the right track: a state government mired in controversies and haunted by allegations, in the remaining short span of four years?

365 is the number of days that have passed by with the LDF government in power- but the number of allegations outrun this count by leaps and bounds. Unfortunately this government cannot be judged with a yardstick other than this, for the number of questions put forth to the government lie heaped in the Legislative Assembly without ever seeing a plausible answer, leave alone attainment of salvation.

If one remembers the Marxist election manifesto, women’s safety and security, land protection, along with equal rights for all and enforcing law and order were some of the points harped by them. Let us not forget how Pinarayi Vijayan waxed eloquence about bearing these in mind as he hand picked his men for election candidature and later, for setting up the government.

Which is exactly why new faces were experimented with. However, the Chief Minister’s own turf, the state’s home ministry was one that saw a maximum of controversies and accusations in a single year’s span. Even before the party assumed power, it began with spate of murders in Thrissur. And in a year’s time, many lives were cruelly, mercilessly snuffed out in Kannur, Palakkad, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram.
In the Chief Minister’s all party meet, none of the promises pronounced stood fulfilled. The year that passed by saw the state police being reduced to sheer nothingness. All decisions taken by the state government in cases pertaining to murders of Soumya, Jisha and Jishnu Pranoy backfired miserably before the Court of law. The recent preceding months were such that the state had no DGP even, to point to! A government which transferred the DGP for sheer vested interests had to shamefully acknowledge defeat before Sen Kumar, who moved judicially. Nothing short of an apology sufficed, to save the government’s face!

Regarding matters of vigilance department, Pinarayi Vijayan was forced to issue a directive to Jacob Thomas asking him to join duty, while on leave, following Court reprieve.  Never before has the spat between IAS and IPS been so ugly.

The case of land grabbing witnessed the chief minister and revenue minister taking opposite stance and officers who functioned with due commitment being subject to menacing intimidation.

Something else- a matter of prime importance backfired for Pinarayi Vijayan. Even as he convened a peace meet in Kannur, desperate to broker peace, his arrogant party men continued their murderous spree, unabated. And in sheer desperation, even though Pinarayi Vijayan tried to label these as isolated instances, he ended up being a laughing stock before the citizens. The ill famed ‘Cell Rule’ , so typically part and parcel of Communist rule, cast its vice grip on police stations and administrative set ups. And with this, justice became the sole prerogative of Communist partymen.

The same political party which exhibited gross licentiousness in the Legislative Assembly when they were in the opposition, while KM Mani presented the budget, has now stooped to shameless depths to proffer support to the very same KM Mani and his party. When CPI came forward with differing stances, the main political faction chose to dodge out. Needless to say, they stood divested of faith and goodwill of their own allies. Above all, the resignation of two ministers, served deadly blows to the Pinarayi government.

Let us hope that Pinarayi Vijayan, while marching into the second year of his rule, will focus on delivering basic amenities and development, better state roadways, augmenting coastal highway , providing drinking water, and other aspects which people are in dire need of and which he must focus on, having a tedious journey to embark on, instead of repeatedly parroting before the citizens about pitfalls and errors committed.

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