With the decision of the CPI(M)-led lDF Cabinet to appoint nonagenarian Marxist and former Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan as chairman of the Kerala Administrative Reforms Commission with Cabinet rank the question being discussed in the State’s political circles is whether this will force him to give up his battles within the CPI(M) and over people’s issues.
There are observers who interpret his appointment in an apolitical position which has no direct relation with the Government or the party as part of a strategy of the CPI(M)’s neo-liberalists headed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his bête noire in the party, to keep Achuthanandan silent even while creating a feeling among the public that the Government has honoured him.
“It is a trap. The left wouldn’t have won the last Assembly election if Achuthanandan was not there as the leader of its campaign. As they have achieved their goal, they don’t want him to continue his attacks against their policies and practices. The easy way to ensure this is to keep him confined to a decorative position,” said a former State committee member of the CPI(M).
Several leaders, both from the ruling front and the Opposition, expressed the opinion that Achuthanandan should not take up the position offered to him by the Cabinet but the nonagenarian leader, presently undergoing Ayurvedic treatment at his rented house in Thiruvananthapuram, is yet to respond to the appointment.
Sources close to Achuthanandan say that he had wanted to return to the State Cabinet of the CPI(M) “more than getting a Cabinet position that offers no opportunity to do justice to his thoughts and commitment as a hardened Marxist.” The request is still under consideration of the leadership and CPI(M) insiders say that this may never happen.
The State party unit, which is under the total control of his enemies in the powerful neo-liberalist camp, would like the Politbureau commission examining his conduct in the past to take a decision on this matter but, according to observers, it will oppose tooth and nail if the central leadership makes a recommendation in his favour.
As far as the central leadership – especially general secretary Sitaram Yechuri, known as a supporter of Achuthanandan – is concerned the Cabinet rank awarded to him with the appointment as ARC chief is a reply to the critics who had predicted that the nonagenarian leader would meet with total neglect after the Assembly election.
“It is a diplomatic game the Marxist party has perhaps never played. With this appointment, the party is telling VS and his loyalists that there is no room for complaint as such a position had not been offered to former CPI(M) chief ministers, even its most powerful ideologue, late EMS Namboothiripad. But we all know it is a hollow argument,” said a VS-loyalist.
Observers point out that Achuthanandan, being in a responsible position, cannot openly attack the neo-liberalist policies the Pinarayi Government is likely to adopt throughout its tenure. All he can do is to prepare notes on such matters with the help of the other two members in the commission but there is no guarantee that such advices will ever be taken seriously, they say.
However, some of his former aides still believe that Achuthanandan is not a person who could be kept silent with diplomatic games. “He has survived many attempts from within the party and outside to silence him in the past. He has faced several disciplinary actions in the party but he has not given up his battles. Also, he can continue his battle for the people using avenues like the Judiciary as he has been doing all this while,” said the VS-loyalist.