For the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ongoing agitation led by local CPI(M) workers of Keezhattur in defiance of their party bosses in the district could not have come at a more opportune time than the Janaraksha Yatra being launched by the BJP State leadership at nearby Payyannur on October 3.
The agitation by the residents of Keezhattur, a CPI(M) bastion, against the alignment of a proposed bypass on the National Highway at Taliparamba has drawn flak from the CPI(M) district leadership, which favoured the present alignment that passes through the paddy fields of Keezhattur instead of an earlier alignment along a residential area. The local residents of the village have been agitating for nearly three weeks demanding that the State government abandon the present alignment that would destroy the paddy fields.
The Keezhattur agitation by local CPI(M) workers has now emerged as a politically fertile stir that draws the CPI(M)’s rival parties, especially the BJP, to have their own piece of the pie.
The agitation gained added political importance for the BJP, not just because it hopes to gain a foothold in the CPI(M)’s ‘party village.’ It also hopes that the issue can be highlighted during the yatra as an example of the CPIM)’s ‘indifference’ to the livelihood issues of people.
“This is a struggle for livelihood and it should be supported by all people,” said BJP State president Kummanam Rajashekharan during his visit to Keezhattur on Wednesday.
The State government is acquiring land and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) job is to constructed the road on the acquired land, he said, adding the party would lead a mass stir on the Keezhattur issue.
‘Misleading campaign’
The CPI(M) leadership has been countering the agitation by alleging that it is based on a misleading campaign against the proposed bypass, which, it said, is essential for the highway development. With the BJP’s entry in support of the stir, the CPI(M) leadership has launched a counter-campaign that the agitation has become a platform of those with anti-CPI(M) politics.
“It is a misleading campaign that the bypass will result in the loss of the entire stretch of paddy fields,” said CPI(M) State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, adding that most of the bypasses in the State have been developed using agricultural land.
Alleging that Mr. Rajashekharan’s visit to Keezhattur was for reaping political gains, he said the alignment was decided by the NHAI, not the CPI(M). It was the State government’s job to hand over land identified by the NHAI, he added.
The CPI(M) invokes the LDF’s election manifesto that promises development of road infrastructure and rail connectivity to defend its stand on the proposed bypass at Keezhattur.
The party dub its workers involved in the agitation as those misled by misleading campaign.
