Call for seceding from India has reached its peak in Kerala with the CPI(M)-led Government making it known that the State would have direct dealings with foreign countries, especially those countries in West Asia.
A senior IAS officer K Vasuki, who is the labour secretary of the State, has been appointed as the officer for external coordination with other countries.
The appointment of Vasuki elevates her as the de facto foreign secretary of the new republic which the Hindus in the State describe as Al-Kherala, a name in synchronisation with the CPI (M)’s new found lovers, the Arab countries.
“The States do not have the power to deal directly with other countries and this move is shrouded in mystery. Already there are demands from some political outfits in the State to secede from India,” said a source close to Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.
Though the States have to follow the guidelines issued by the Centre while dealing with foreign countries, Kerala has been pursuing the CPI(M)’s line of internationalism as the Marxists do not believe in national borders. It may be remembered that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is more comfortable in dealing with the rulers of Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Kuwait, Cuba and China than the BJP-led government at the Centre.
Two leading business magnates from the State whose names are synonymous with the Royal Families of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Oman act as Vijayan’s eyes and ears in these countries. The ruler of Sharjah, who came to Kerala on a State visit was entertained by the chief minister at his palatial Cliff Bungalow in the capital city which saw many eye brows being raised.
Another minister in the Vijayan cabinet reportedly brought dates, copies of Holy Quran etc from the Gulf nations purportedly for distributing among poor children. Grapevine is that the commodities were gold and precious metals which could not be imported to Kerala through normal routes. The repercussions of the gold smuggling scam that shook Kerala in 2019-2021 period are yet to die though no arrests have been made in the case. The “star” witnesses are living comfortably in the West Asian capital cities with round-the-clock security provided by the Royal governments.
During the Covid pandemic, the Government of Kerala had made a declaration that the State would manufacture its own vaccine to fight the disease. Though it is more than three years, the vaccine manufacturing remains a non-starter. A former police chief told The Pioneer that he was shocked by the CPI (M) government’s move to have direct dealings with foreign countries. The Kerala Government has burnt its fingers once during the 2018 flood when it went to town stating that the UAE ruler had offered it billions of rupees as relief but the Modi government did not allow the same to be transferred to the State. The UAE ruler had to issue a statement denying any such offer to the state from his government.
TP Sreenivasan, former High Commissioner to Fiji, told The Pioneer that appointing an IAS officer to officiate as coordinator to communicate with other countries is fine so long as it happens through the ministry of external issues. “To call it secessionism may not be fair,” said the former IFS officer with more than three decades of diplomatic experience behind him.
