States: Kerala; Defection Drama

India Today
October 12,1998

KERALA
Defection Drama

Blatant opportunism marks the political parties' bid to grab power in the panchayats.

By M G Radhakrishnan

Karunakaran with A K Anthony Payyavur was a name seldom heard outside Kerala's Kannur district. Not any more. An act of skulduggery in the obscure panchayat has inflamed passions and wrought unexpected changes in the political landscape. It has united a fragmented Congress, galvanised the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) and sparked a statewide agitation against the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government.

Trouble began last month when the 11-member Payyavur panchayat committee was to take up a no-trust move against its president, T.M. Joshi of the CPI(M). The motion moved by the Congress had the support of six members, three of whom had recently crossed over to the UDF from LDF. Long before the meeting was to begin on September 1, hundreds of CPI(M) workers poured into Payyavur and the six backers of the no-trust move had to seek police cover to get to the panchayat office. Anticipating trouble, the six had moved the high court and got police protection. The court had also directed the panchayat deputy director to attend the meeting. He did, but when the panchayat members did not arrive at the office till 11 a.m., he declared that the motion could not to be taken up for lack of quorum.

Smarting under the unexpected developments, Congress leaders filed a contempt case against Kannur SP Darvesh Sahib, accusing him of not granting protection to the committee members and "deliberately detaining" them at the police station. Sahib too filed an affidavit, stating that despite the police offer to take the panel members to the office, they had refused to comply. This is when the court stepped in. On September 28, a bench of the high court observed that the police had failed to implement the court order. It found the panchayat deputy director guilty of contempt of court. An embarrassed Government called for an emergency meeting on September 29 and gave the clearance to promulgate an ordinance banning defections in local bodies.

The Congress was quick to capitalise on this. Top party leaders, including legislators K.C. Joseph and K. Sudhakaran, went on relay fast at Payyavur. "This agitation is not just over an issue at the panchayat level but against the immoral and anti-democratic practices of the CPI(M)," says Congress leader A.K. Antony.

Payyavur has also exposed the blatant opportunism of political parties at the civic level. Panchayat members switch parties without any qualms and their party leaders have so far chosen to ignore such incidents. Says KPCC President Tennala Balakrishna Pillai, "It is impossible to impose a diktat on the local leadership." Many leaders feel defections have kept pace with the increase in panchayat funds. As part of its People's Planning Programme, the Government has allocated more than Rs 1,000 crore to the panchayats during 1997-98 compared to Rs 250 crore three years ago. "More money means more funds for panchayats," says an official. What he left unsaid was that more funds meant more avenues for corruption.

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