 | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | POOR REPORT CARD: Achuthanandan has failed to keep his promises | | Not many governments would have entered their 100th day with so much embarrassment. After more than three months of its rule, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government in Kerala has more controversies than achievements to show. Farmer suicides, custodial deaths, students committing suicide, a sexual harassment case involving a minister-the Government is cornered over more issues than it fought for as Opposition during the previous regime. Suicides by farmers in the hilly Wayanad district-hub of Kerala's commercial crops-was an issue over which the LDF had made the previous United Democratic Front (UDF) government's life miserable. Unable to pay off debts, about 165 farmers cultivating cash crops had committed suicide in the past five years. Seizure of houses and properties of defaulting farmers by banks had become a common sight in Wayanad. Although the Oommen Chandy government had taken up the issue with both the NDA and the succeeding UPA governments at the Centre, hardly any concrete step was taken except the announcement of a liberal "Wayanad Package". The LDF shed copious tears over the misery of farmers and repeatedly accused the Chandy government's policies for it. When it came to power, the LDF waived the loans of all farmers who had committed suicide. "We will manage to do this despite the exchequer's pitiable state. At least let us bring down the misery of the families of the dead farmers," said Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan who had personally taken up the farmers' issue as the Opposition leader. After consultation with various banks, the Government also announced a one year moratorium for repayment of agricultural loans. However, these measures failed to stop the suicides. In the past three months alone, six farmers from Wayanad have embraced death on account of financial misery. "By waiving the loans of farmers who committed suicide the Government seems to be trying to encourage suicides. They have no programme for those who are condemned to live," says Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Ramesh Chennithala. On education policy too, the LDF Government has failed to make much progress. While in Opposition, the LDF had effectively used Rajani Anand as an effective metaphor to prove the UDF government's education policies as pro-rich. In 2004 the LDF's agitation against the then government's education policy received a huge fillip when 20-year-old Anand, a Dalit student in a self-financing engineering college, committed suicide after banks rejected her application for an education loan. The UDF government's opening up of higher education sector and the consequent mushrooming of self-financing colleges with sky-high fees were blamed to have made education out of bounds for the poor. To prove a point, Anand chose to end her life jumping from the multi-storey building which housed the state directorate for entrance examination. The issue rocked the UDF government and was to an extent responsible for its huge electoral rout. | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | Instead of stepping down, Joseph has taken refuge in the familiar excuse that he was framed. | | In a bid to tide over the problem, the succeeding LDF Government announced a new Bill to regulate the fees and admissions in private self-financing colleges. The Self-Financing Colleges Bill, unanimously passed by the state legislature, has been challenged by the college managements in courts. Many colleges have wriggled out of the government regulations with considerable help from the Minority Commission which has granted them minority status. Meanwhile, the issue of student suicides has come back to haunt the state Government with Biji Chandran, a 20-year-old student of a self-financing B.Ed college in Olloor committing suicide recently. Chandran chose to end her life as she was unable to continue studies after a bank refused to grant her education loan. The UDF has lambasted the Government over the issue. "Those who made a big hue and cry over Anand's death are not speaking a word about Chandran's death. She was a victim of the wrong and ineffective policies of the Government which could not carry out its election promise of putting an end to such incidents," said Chandy. However, the LDF Government's biggest embarrassment has been the record number of custodial deaths -an issue over which it had created much uproar when the UDF was in power. In the past six weeks alone, there have been six custodial deaths in the state. In fact, as many as five of them were petty criminals and one had died after he jumped into a lake and drowned on being chased by the police. The Government, meanwhile, is defensive on the issue. "Not a single person died of torture and hence the incidents cannot be defined as custodial deaths. However, it is embarrassing for the Government as we have fought the torture and persecution by the police all throughout our lives," said state Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. The minister has announced a judicial inquiry into the incident. "The LDF while in Opposition had held our government to ransom when one person died in custody last year. Look at the number of custodial deaths now. It seems to be aiming for a place in the Guinness Book," says Chennithala. The LDF Government's proverbial last straw was the recent revelation of a sexual harassment case involving P.J. Joseph, state public works minister. The 64-year-old minister, who is the chairman of the Kerala Congress(J), was accused of having misbehaved with a woman passenger travelling in a Kingfisher flight from Chennai to Kochi. According to the woman's husband, the minister who was in the seat behind the woman had tried to sexually assault her when the flight was taking off. Joseph has called the allegations a political conspiracy to malign him but has admitted that his fingers might have touched the woman's body unintentionally. The incident has landed Achuthanandan in an awkward position as it was he who had led the LDF's long and vigorous agitation against the alleged sex scandals of some ministers in the UDF government. It may be recalled that P.K. Kunhalikutty, industry minister and Muslim League strongman, had to quit the cabinet after he was alleged to have had a role in a sex scandal. P.J. Kurian, a Congress MP and a former Union minister also was in the dock after a minor girl had alleged that he was among the many who had sexually tortured her. The case is pending in court. "The LDF in general and Achuthanandan in particular had campaigned for five years against the sexual atrocities against women. Now what do they have to say when women are being harassed by their own ministers," asks Shanimol Usman, president of the women's unit of the state Congress. Cases like these have not only overshadowed the limited achievements of the LDF Government, but also landed it in an image crisis prematurely ending its honeymoon.
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CUSTODIAL DEATHS: While in the Opposition, the LDF took to the streets vandalising public property in protest against custodial deaths that totalled over 200 during the five years of the Congress-led UDF.
