b>
By S. Chandrasekhar
For K. Karunakaran who has dominated the Congress in Kerala for more than six decades, it is the beginning of the end. His son K. Muralidharan, former MP, former Pradesh Congress president and former Power Minister has been expelled from the Congress for anti-party activities. The ?I? group of K. Karunakaran in the Congress is riddled with rats who want to run away from the sinking ship. Hardly 6 MLAs of the 28 member group are prepared to go with Karunakaran and his son if he forms a new party. Moreover Karunakaran'sdaughter Padmaja, who is also a Congress leader is not prepared to leave the parent party. The options before the father and son are also limited. The opposition CPM led LDF will not accommodate them since both Karunakaran and the CPM have been opposing each other, almost during their entire political career. The allies of the official Congress like Muslim League and the Christian dominated Kerala Congress will not ditch Chief Minister Oomen Chandy since the minorities are reaping the maximum benefit under his leadership.
Moreover Muralidharan'sannouncement of the formation of a third front will not cut much ice since Kerala has been polarised into two fronts, the CPM led LDF and the Congress led LDF. This is the exact reasons why the BJP has not been able to win a seat in Kerala despite winning upto 12 lakhs votes and a large network of RSS and its affiliated organisations.
The ultimate casualty of Karunakaran'sfamily over ambitiousness and arrogance is the Hindu populaces of Kerala. Despite all his falls, Karunakaran was a Hindu Voice in the Congress. He may have appeased the minorities for his political gains, but he also was a Hindu devotee. He may have done a lot of contributions for Christians and Muslims, but he never ignore the Hindus.
The opposition CPM led LDF will not accommodate them since both Karunakaran and the CPM have been opposing each other, almost during their entire political career. The allies of the official Congress like Muslim League and the Christian dominated Kerala Congress will not ditch Chief Minister Oomen Chandy.
With the assumption of Oomen Chandy as Chief Minister, the Hindus are politically orphaned. There is nobody to cater to their genuine problems. The refusal to co-operate with Mata Amritanandamayi to build houses for tsunami hit, openly aligning with the Christian Clergy for conversion of Hindus in tsunami ravaged villages and inaction when the Income Tax department tried to levy tax on collections received by Guruvayoor temple are but a few examples of the bias shown against Hindus by the Chandy Government.
The 56 per cent Hindu population of Kerala is at the Mercy of the 44 per cent Christian/Muslim population, politically, socially and economically. Almost 80 per cent of the economy of Kerala is controlled by the minorities. They dominate the educational field with the maximum number of schools, colleges and professional institutions. Prime lands, almost entirely in the state, are at their control. Now with both the CPM led LDF and the congress led UDF wooing them, they control the state. In addition to this crores of rupees are being pumped into the state through ?Hawala? transactions to aid and abet land grab, conversions and Islamic extremist activity.
Thousands of acres of land are being grabbed by the church with the open support of Oomen Chandy in the tourist areas of Idukki, Munnar, Wagamon etc. Islamic extremist activity by P.D.P, N.D.F. etc. continue unabated.
Although two major organisations representing Nairs and Ezhavas like NSS and SNDP have joined together to question the pampering of minorities and to get the just demands of Hindus, the result will not be productive unless a concerted move is made to bring all the Hindu Organisations under one platform and to convert it into a political vote bank. The RSS-BJP will have a major role in it, due to their wide network. But time is running short and the pace has to be quickened.
