Sahitya Akademi president and fellow leftist K Satchidanandan has ruffled feathers in the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) saying that continued rule by one party/coalition is not auspicious for a healthy democracy.
From K SachiThe prominent Malayalam poet’s comments came in the run-up to Kerala’s assembly elections, where the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government is aiming for a third consecutive term.
“For a democracy to function well, the government and the opposition have to change regularly. Bengal’s experience is before us,” Satchidanandan told reporters, a day after he spoke on the same topic in an interview with a local newspaper. He indicated that the current state of the West Bengal CPI(M) unit was largely due to its uninterrupted three-decade rule in the state, a period in which decentralization of power declined.
“When a government is continuously in power the chances of overriding selfish motives increase… Winning or losing elections should not be the ultimate goal of parties. What matters is whether parties reflect the voice of the people.”
While he clarified that his comments should not be seen in the context of the upcoming elections, Satchidanandan criticized the Vijayan government for appeasing Ejava organization chief Vellapalli Natesan despite his problematic comments.
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“Secular parties must not indulge in appeasing communities and castes. It is not auspicious for any Keralite when a government constantly appeases a person of one community and respects him even higher than the Guru (Sri Narayana Guru),” the poet said. Natesan heads the SNDP, a social service organization of which Guru served as its first and lifetime chairman.
Satchidanandan also suggested that the LDF and UDF form a common candidate in areas where the BJP has influence to curb the growth of the saffron party in the state. While he supports the idea of a Bharat Bloc and said all opposition parties should unite at the Centre, Kavi said he would not call for such an understanding in Kerala as it would make the BJP the main opposition party and even come to power in the state in the future.
Author Sara Joseph, a left-wing intellectual also supported the poet’s views. “I agree that the government must change. All communist governments are destroyed when they become dictators,” he said.
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Leader of Opposition VD Sathisan supported Sacchidanandan’s comments against parties holding office for consecutive terms.
“Good communists and fellow leftists have lost faith in this government,” he said.
However, the CPI(M) leadership rejected Kabir’s views.
“We are constantly explaining to the people the need to re-elect this government,” CPM state secretary MV Govindan said.
KK Shailaja, senior CPI(M) leader, added, “The development initiatives undertaken in the last 10 years can only continue if the government is re-elected.”
