Burying its alleged despair over the ‘neglect’ shown to it by the Central leadership during the Cabinet reshuffle, the Kerala BJP leadership on Sunday accorded a warm welcome to Alphons Kannanthanam on his first visit to the State after taking charge as Union Minister even as differences cropped up within the ruling CPI(M) over the approach to be adopted to him with veteran Marxist VS Achuthanandan unleashing a scathing attack against him.
After landing at Kochi airport on Sunday morning, Kannanthanam said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted close relations between the Centre and State Governments. State BJP president Kummanam Rajasekharan and several senior leaders had reached the airport to welcome him on his first visit to the home State after assuming office. “The Central and State Governments have to work together for the development of Kerala. The personal relation with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will be of much help in this,” the new Minister of State for Tourism and IT said. Pinarayi was perhaps the first Kerala leader to congratulate Kannanthanam on his induction into the Union Ministry.
Kannanthanam said there were no differences in the State BJP and that it was going ahead with total unity. On the lack of celebrations at the State BJP headquarters during his swearing-in ceremony on September 3, Kannanthanam said this happened as it was the occasion of Onam festival and that there was no need to interpret it in any other way.
“We can give him a warm welcome only when he comes here. That is what is happening now. Of course, all leaders and workers of the party in the State are happy about the fact that a representative of the State has got into the Union Government,” Kummanam said. Other top leaders like former State president V Muraleedharan were present at the airport.
The Kerala BJP unit was reportedly not unhappy about the induction of Kannanthanam, a national executive member without very strong ties with the State unit, into the Union Ministry as the national leadership had made the selection by neglecting the State leadership and that it was allegedly not informed of the selection till the announcement of the decision.
However, there were no signs of any ill such ill feeling on the part of the State leaders as they warmly received him at the airport and felicitated him at the programmes organised at various centres in Ernakulam and in his own home district, Kottayam. Former State BJP president PS Sreedharan Pillai inaugurated a road show held to welcome Kannanthanam.
“What despairIJ It is an allegation leveled at us as part of an anti-BJP campaign. Kannanthanam is one of us. Actually, he is far more efficient, especially in matters of administration, than most of us. There is no reason for us not to be happy. After all, he is Kerala’s representative in the Central Government,” said a senior BJP leader known to be close to Kummanam.
Meanwhile sharp differences have developed within the Kerala CPI(M) which heads the ruling lDF over the approach to be adopted towards Kannanthanam, a former Independent MlA of the Marxist party who migrated to the BJP in 2011. While one section argues that cooperation should be extended to Kannanthanam while its opponents view him as a traitor.
“What has happened in the case of Kannanthanam is the biggest decadence that a left fellow-traveler could undergo,” said nonagenarian CPI(M) leader VS Achuthanandan. Instead of understanding that a left fellow-traveler cannot be a pawn in the hands fascist forces, Kannanthanam conveniently migrated to the fascist camp, he alleged.
“This is political decadence,” Achuthanandan said, adding that there was no reason for congratulating Kannanthanam on his induction into the Union Government. The message Kannanthanam had given was that the left should be more careful while selecting candidates for elections, said the veteran Marxist leader.
Achuthanandan’s statement is a direct dig at Marxist Chief Minister Pinarayi who was perhaps the first Kerala leader to congratulate Kannanthanam after he got the new assignment. Pinarayi had also hosted an Onam feast for Kannanthanam and had hoped him to be Kerala’s voice in the Union Government.
However, Kannanthanam, a former bureaucrat, refused to take criticisms of Achuthanandan, former Chief Minister, seriously. He said the veteran leader was speaking in this manner because of his advanced age. He might be thinking that he had the freedom to say anything, Kannanthanam said, adding that he did not want to respond to his comments.