The Communist Party of India (CPI) State executive on Monday reportedly attempted to walk a tight rope between registering strong disapproval of the government’s handling of K-Rail (SilverLine) protesters and cautioning society about the Congress-Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP) bid to sabotage the Left Democratic Front (LDF) administration’s ambitious development agenda.
CPI State secretary Kanam Rajendran chaired the closed-door meeting. By some accounts, the party took strong exception to how the police dealt with anti-SilverLine protesters.
A viral television news footage of a police officer stomping a protester at coastal Kaniyapuram, near here, had accorded the Congress and the BJP an outsize propaganda advantage.
The CPI felt the incident had added impetus to the anti-SilverLine movement and helped the Opposition characterise the government as unsympathetic.
The executive reportedly noted that branch and local committee members had spotlighted the growing public apprehension about SilverLine.
The government should assuage the fears and reach a general agreement with stakeholders, the party felt.
The CPI also felt that the LDF had a mandate to implement the “future-proof” mass rapid transport scheme.
SilverLine had figured prominently in the coalition’s 2021 Assembly election manifesto. Moreover, the previous LDF government had successfully resolved similar resistance against the GAIL pipeline and NH widening.
IUML issue
There was criticism that LDF convener E. P. Jayarajan had jumped the gun by seeming to give the impression that the ruling front was keen to welcome the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) into its fold.
Mr. Jayarajan's remark shortly after he assumed the post was sans consultations and far out of line with the LDF's approach.
The LDF had repeatedly criticised the IUML leadership for seeming to show a radical tilt off late by “cosying up” to the political ideology of the conservative Jamat-e-Islami.
The State executive also criticised delinking disaster management from the Revenue department. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had claimed the portfolio.
The CPI also weighed limiting the age of State council members to 75 and reserving at least 40% of party membership for the youth.
