CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan claimed here on Thursday that events revolving around the ‘solar scandal’, bickerings within the Congress and revelations about senior party leaders like Ramesh Chennithala and Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan being involved in attempts to implicate former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in the scandal have put the United Democratic Front (UDF) on the backfoot.
The Opposition is now scared of a detailed inquiry into the issues even though the Left Democratic Front (LDF) is ready to hold a detailed discussion on them and other issues such as the financial condition of the State in the Assembly, he said. Mr. Govindan was inaugurating the 70th anniversary observance of the Mattancherry uprising and the death of three persons when the police fired on a large gathering of those seeking work at the Kochi port on September 15, 1953.
The condition is now such that the UDF has crossed out any gain it appeared to garner when it won the Puthuppally bypoll last week. The Puthuppally result was anticipated, and it was neither the UDF nor Chandy Oommen, but Oommen Chandy who won it, the CPI(M) leader said.
He added that events like the one that unfolded at Mattancherry played a major role in turning Kerala into one of the foremost states in terms of workers’ rights and raising the standard of living of the people. He said while the Union government led by Narendra Modi adopted the rich, the State government adopted the poorest of the poor, providing them land and housing.
He said Kerala should be prepared to prevent a repeat of what happened in Manipur. The northeast State has seen events that are genocidal. Kerala is also a focus area for the RSS to implement the Hindutva agenda, he warned.
The 70th anniversary observance of the Mattancherry firing was organised by the EMS Study and Research Centre. CPI(M) district secretary C.N. Mohanan said an appeal was being made before the State government to provide a plot of land for a suitable memorial for the martyrs of Mattancherry. He said it would be a fitting memorial for those who laid down their lives for the rights of workers as he recalled the inhuman ‘Chappa’ or token system. The system involved brokers appointed by business owners throwing three tokens in the air and thousands of workers fought one another to collect the token because only those with token could get work for the day.
Senior CPI(M) leaders including former Kochi Mayor Dinesh Mani, GCDA Chairman K. Chandran Pillai, K.J. Maxi, MLA, and Mayor M. Anilkumar were present. CITU all India general secretary Tapan Sen inaugurated a seminar as part of the programme. A book on the Mattancherry events by Dharmaraj Adat was also released on the occasion.
