In an alleged bid to divide the farmers of Keezhattur in Kerala’s Kannur district who are on a united struggle to protect their paddy land through which the National Highways Authority of India is planning to construct a bypass for NH66, the CPI(M) has begun to woo the farmers it had expelled earlier for taking part in the agitation back into the party.
As part of the bid, the Kannur district leadership of the CPI(M) on Wednesday met the farmers who were expelled from it at their homes reportedly offering to reconsider the disciplinary actions taken against them if they were prepared to withdraw from the agitation. The CPI(M) had expelled its 11 farmer members from Keezhattur for participating in the agitation.
P Jayarajan, Kannur district secretary of the CPI(M), and some of his colleagues in the district committee met the farmers and asked them to cooperate with the party on Wednesday. Suresh Keezhattur, leader of Vayalkilikal, a forum of the paddy farmers in Keezhattur opposing the construction of the NH bypass destroying 21 hectares of rice field, confirmed the development.
The district leadership of the CPI(M) has launched the bid as per a decision taken by its area committee in Thalipparamba at its meeting held the other day to take stock of the situation arising out of the farmers’ stir which has pushed the CPI(M) and the lDF Government into a deep crisis as all the agitators are workers and sympathizers of the party.
The party has initiated the move also in the context of the decision of the Vayalkilikal to hold a 500-kilometer long March from Thalipparamba to State Capital Thiruvananthapuram if the Government does not change shift the bypass alignment out of the Keezhattur paddy land. The CPI(M) has asked its former members not to participate in the planned march.
After the visits to former party members’ homes, Jayarajan asked his party colleagues not to paint Vayalkilikal as political opponents. Rem-aining firm on the party stand that the ideological leadership behind the stir was certain extremist forces, Jayarajan said partymen’s responsibility was to guide those who had gone astray through the right path.
Keezhattur is known as a ‘party village’ under the absolute control of the CPI(M). “life can become really terrible for those who get expelled from the party and for their families. Expulsion from party automatically brings about virtual ostracism,” said a former CPI(M) functionary. The CPI(M) has termed the farmers’ stir as an act of anti-development environmental extremism.
Suresh Keezhattur said Vayalkilikal were determined to hold the long March as per the plan. A farmer expelled from the CPI(M) said Jayarajan had only held a friendly chat with him during the visit to his house on Wednesday. Sources in the Vayalkilikal collective said the farmers expelled from the CPI(M) were firm about continuing with the struggle.
The stir to protect the paddy land in Keezhattur had started under the leadership of the CPI(M) but the party withdrew from it accordance with the lDF Government’s development policy. There are allegations that the CPI(M) leadership is firm about constructing the bypass through the rice field because there are possibilities of corruption in the construction process.
Though the party, after its withdrawal from the stir, had adopted a confrontationist approach towards the agitators, it was forced to consider ways to mollify the farmers as the small local agitation has turned into a State issue attracting national attention and has won the active support of several other political parties and environmental and rights organisations.