Opposition leader and former chief minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy, tells Joe C Mathew the ruling Communists-led front has no moral right to fight for a ban on controversial pesticide Endosulfan.
Hardly two weeks after the state elections, Kerala’s ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) seems to be in an agitation mode over Endosulfan. The Communists called a hartal on April 29, and Kerala chief minister V S Achuthanandan went on a hunger strike. How do you see these developments?
It is a farce. LDF has no moral right to conduct such an agitation. First, the Central government had, in 2006 itself, banned the use of Endosulfan in the state. If the pesticide is still available in the state, the fault is with the current government, as it was their responsibility to implement this ban. During the last five years, there has been no instance of seizure (of Endosulfan), no cases were filed and no raids conducted. Now, they are mounting this agitation to camouflage their (the LDF government’s) governance failures — and an impending electoral defeat.
Second, the government has failed to give a compensation to victims. Even a meagre sum of Rs 50,000 each that was sanctioned to the families where Endosulfan-related deaths had occurred, has not been distributed. Of the 496 deaths that were officially recorded, only 179 families received compensation. There have been no attempts to rehabilitate the victims.
Do you share the Central government’s view that the final decision (on a complete ban) should be taken only after the expert committee submits its findings?
We do not share the views of the agricultural ministry. We are for a total ban of Endosulfan. It is already in force in Kerala, and we want this to be extended throughout the country. What we oppose is LDF’s move to blame the UPA government.
How do you see this agitation in the backdrop of the just concluded state elections?
LDF is on its way out. They realised this during the time of the election campaigning itself. The agitation is just to divert attention.
Leaders of various political parties say the Kerala Assembly election results will be a close call. How do you assess the situation?
First, this assessment is not correct. We (United Democratic Front) have never had any doubt about our winning possibilities. The same trend that caused LDF (Left Democratic Front led by the Communists) to lose the recently held Parliament elections and Panchayat polls continues. Every opinion poll predicts a UDF victory. We are expecting more (seats) than the 85-96 seats (of a total of 140 seats) predicted by various agencies.
What is the political agenda you placed before the voters?
We have pointed out the failures of this government on all fronts. It has failed miserably in tackling unemployment, curbing price rice and eliminating poverty. The government has not been able to reap the benefits of the flagship social sector programmes initiated by the Central government.
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Even with the Centre providing support, none of the dream projects conceived by us during our previous tenure could materialise.
If voted to power, what will be your priorities?
Our election manifesto talks about ‘development and care’ for the people of this state. We will bring in new investments, create more job opportunities, boost economic growth and will earmark a share of those economic benefits into social projects that can directly benefit the state’s poor and needy.
Can you elaborate on this?
It means that our social welfare projects will directly reach the people. We will not wait for the trickle-down effect of economic growth to benefit them. A portion of the revenues generated will go towards social welfare projects.
What are the focus areas for these direct-support schemes?
Healthcare will be the major focus. We will partner with the Central government to put in place a comprehensive healthcare support system. It will also take insurance companies and charitable organisations on board.
Medicare is not just about treatment, it is a social problem and we will ensure that every person of the state gets the best of the treatment irrespective of his/her financial status from within the state itself. This is our dream vision.
Congress has introduced a lot of new faces in the election fray this time…
More than half of Congress candidates today are new faces. There is also considerable representation for the youth. If you see our selection process, you will realise that all sitting Congress MLAs (24 of them) have been given seats.
It was a conscious decision by the high command to recognise the efforts taken by these leaders when Congress went through difficult (political) times. Then you have the youth list and other new comers. They will definitely boost our chances and we are certainly going to win.
If your party wins, who will be the chief minister? There are many contenders for the post.
Everything depends on the party high command. I am just leading the fight. It’s up to the high command to make a final decision. Elected MLAs will elect their leader and he will be the chief minister. That’s the Congress culture.