United Democratic Front (UDF) convener P. P. Thankachan on Wednesday accused the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] of unabashedly violating the poll code for government employees by urging members of its service organisations to openly participate in election campaigning and fund raising. The UDF would move the Election Commission of India against the violation, he said.
At a press conference here, Mr. Thankachan furnished an “emergency chit” purportedly written by the CPI(M) Thiruvananthapuram district secretary Kadakampally Surendran to local committee secretaries and branch secretaries of the party’s service organisations.
The communiqué asked members of the organisations to participate in booth-level election meetings and form squads for door-to-door campaigning. The squads comprising solely of Government employees should periodically sent political verification reports to the party. Members should contribute a day’s salary to the party’s election fund, the “chit” said. The directive applied to State, Central and public sector employees and Government pensioners.
The communiqué showed clear violation of the poll code, which unambiguously stated that Government employees should not campaign in elections, raise funds for political parties or attempt to influence the electorate.
The third front was politically irrelevant. The fight at the national level was between the UPA and the NDA. Under Modi, the BJP has revealed its true agenda, the creation of a Hindu State at the cost of the welfare of the country’s ethnic minorities.
In Kerala, the LDF has fielded “comedians and college owners” as it candidates after discovering that none of its leaders stood even a remote chance of victory in the polls. Fear of defeat has forced the Left to secretly forge alliances with radical outlets and right wing elements.
Opposition Leader V. S. Achuthanandan’s u-turn on popular issues has caused deep disillusionment among the masses. They would swing towards the UDF.
The CPI(M)’s star campaigner and crowd-puller, Mr. Achuthanandan, has brazenly forsaken his credibility and betrayed the faith of his supporters by aligning with his party’s discredited official faction.
