WITH THE the expulsion of Kerala Chief Minsiter VS Achuthanandan, from the politburo of the CPI(M), the party has probably struck the last nail in its coffin. The party was already in the graveyard with the infamous Lavlin Scandal and their performance in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections. In the Lavlin Scandal, which was one of Kerala's biggest corruption scandals, the party's State Secretary, Pinaray Vijayan, booked his place on the list of notable culprits in the state. The party then went on to face a wholesale debacle in the last Lok Sabha elections. But this was not only a Kerala phenomena, but a development with nationwide repercussions.
The most interesting thing to note was that when the government of Kerala, led by the Communist Party, demanded that the governor stop the CBI from prosecuting Pinaray Vijayan in the scandal, the Governor stated that 'they were expected to' give consent to the CBI to proceed with the prosecution. The Governor's decision was soon termed out 'unconstitutional' by party think-tanks, but added that the Governor had the power to decide over the cabinet. When news of the decision of the central secretariat emerged last Sunday, I was out dining with my friends in Delhi. Two of my friends happened to be members of the Communist Party in Kerala. Both of them reacted strongly to the news of expulsion of V S from the Politburo. They said “now, it is over and we are fed up with it”, one of them even went as far as saying “to me now politics means nothing” These comments are a testimony to the popularity of the veteran communist leader in Kerala.
But all protests were in vain as there had been a long-running witch hunt against Achuthanandan who fell out of favour with some lobbies, for certain political and party decisions. But his admirers know that he observed the principles of communism throughout his life. His exemplary conduct was visible to everybody, when he was opposition leader in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. People were soon calling him the best opposition leader in Kerala's political history.
But in spite of his reputation, even he had to struggle, first to get a party ticket to compete in the assembly and then after posting a record victory, for permission to assume the role of chief minister. Yet he managed to get all these things done even with constant interference from the national leadership. Even after all this, he had to face barriers within the cabinet. The party and most ministers in his cabinet put every possibly obstruction in his way to prevent him from shining as a popular leader. Such party functionaries and cabinet members and also did everything to shield corrupt members from disciplinary action.
Achuthanandan's expulsion from the Politburo will in due course require him to give up the post of chief minster. The words of the immortal M N Vijayan, one of the founders of communism in Kerala seem to have been proven true. Months before his death, he had said that if the party continued in the current way, soon there would only be a party; there would be no people behind it.
