The LDF government can’t fool the people in the lottery scam, Ramesh Chennithala, president, Kerala state Congress unit, tells Saubhadra Chatterji
During the past few months, there has been a rise of extremist forces in Kerala. The Popular Front of India, a radical Muslim outfit, is propagating “love for jihads” and taking other aggressive steps. How will this reflect in the politics of the state?
All over the country, many extremist forces belonging to various communities are trying to spread their tentacles. Yes, in Kerala also some people are trying to do mischief. These forces are trying to divide the state on religious lines. But these are not politically powerful people. In the past, some of these groups tried to contest elections and fielded surrogate candidates. But nowhere did they get more than 2,000 or 3,000 votes. The political stage in Kerala will continue to be dominated by the mainstream political parties.
So are you not worried about the rise of these forces?
Of course, it is matter of concern not just for the political parties but also for the society as a whole. But the people of Kerala have already taught them a lesson. They don’t enjoy popular support. Maybe they are trying to show their influence in some small pockets.
Even if you try to downplay the problems arising out of these extremist forces, the Congress is facing internal bickering. Many a partner, like the Kerala Congress (M), is not happy with its share of tickets and wants more seats for the panchayat elections. The UDF (United Democratic Front) is like an unhappy divided family.
No. Initially, they might have made some demands as the two factions of the Kerala Congress merged. But there is no bickering now and all issues have been settled. There will be no complaint from any UDF constituent now. It is remarkable that the Congress could solve these issues before the last day for filing nominations. Like other political parties, they had their demands. We have put in place a formula. Don’t worry, we will show our unity and strength in the elections.
Rahul Gandhi is advocating that tickets be given to young candidates. While most other state units have followed this, many district units in Kerala have asked how can so many youth leaders be given tickets. So, your organisation is not ready to accept Rahul Gandhi’s wish list.
This is another issue we have resolved amicably. I met all district unit chiefs and no one opposed the idea. There were not enough suitable candidates from the Youth Congress in some districts. But overall, in the upcoming panchayat elections, 50 per cent seats of the Congress will be given to the youth, that is, people below the age of 40. Rahul Gandhi has never said that tickets should be given only to Youth Congress members. He wants tickets for young candidates. There is no internal bickering and the seat allocation has been smooth. The demands of the Youth Congress have been more or less met and 90 per cent of their candidates have been accommodated. Even Karunakaran has expressed happiness at the candidate selection.
Although Kerala is known for voting in a new government every five years, observers say it will be tough for the Congress in the coming panchayat elections. The Kudumbasree programme of the LDF (Left Democratic Front) government on forming self-help groups (SHGs) has got a fabulous response.
Yes, Kudambasree is a popular programme but LDF will not be able to take any political benefit out of it. How can the government claim credit for the programme? The UDF government was the first one to launch such a programme. Our programme was called Janasree. When LDF came to power, it stopped support to Janasree and launched its own programme. They have copied our programme. I am confident LDF will not be able to reap any benefit from this because it is not a scheme only for the comrades. Our people in the villages are also involved in the programme. People know the Congress had launched a similar scheme few years ago. We are campaigning about our contribution to the SHG schemes and there is a positive response. People are also aware that the Left leaders are taking the help of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the elections. One of BJP’s district presidents, B Gopalakrishnan, said his party would support LDF candidates in Thrissur district. This shows the dirty alliance of BJP and LDF in Kerala that has been in place for the past many years.
But all your campaigns suffered a major setback after the party’s national spokesperson, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appeared as a lawyer in the lottery case. It is a huge blow to your main election plank — the alleged lottery scam under the LDF government.
Yes, Singhvi didn’t do the right thing by appearing in that case. But he has withdrawn and the Left can’t fool people on the issue. In the last four-and-a-half years of the Left rule, the common man witnessed the hooch tragedy and lottery as well as other scams. The inter-state lottery was the biggest of these. The LDF government wants the lottery mafia to flourish in the state. The Congress will continue its war against the lottery mafia.
Only Left-ruled states like West Bengal and Kerala promote these inter-state lotteries. Why?
The finance minister of the state, Thomas Isaac, was a failure in the lottery debate on TV and distorted facts. We demand that Isaac step down and the government order a judicial probe.
Minutes ago, you claimed there is no bickering in the state Congress unit. But it’s a well known fact that you don’t get along with Leader of Opposition Ommen Chandi.
No, it’s not correct. The Congress is a united house in Kerala.
Then who will be your chief minister candidate in the upcoming Assembly elections? You or Chandi? Or will it be A K Antony again?
In the Congress, we don’t decide who will be the chief minister. After the results are out, the party high command and the Congress President, Sonia Gandhi, will decide these things.
Are you also in the race to become the next chief minister?
As I told you, the Congress president will decide what role we should play.
Will you project anyone as the chief minister?
We have never done that. The party will fight the elections and the elected members will leave the issue to Sonia Gandhi. There is no need to project anyone as the chief minister.
