In Malayalappuzha, Pathanamthitta district, a group of women entrepreneurs running a Kudumbashree restaurant have raised allegations against local CPM leaders. The women claim they were pressured to subscribe to multiple copies of Deshabhimani, the Malayalam daily affiliated with the CPM, and upon refusal, were threatened with eviction from their shop premises.
The six women, who have successfully operated their restaurant for the past decade, reported that they have consistently purchased a single copy of Deshabhimani. However, according to their statements, CPM leaders recently demanded that they increase their subscription to five copies, a cost they found unaffordable.
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The shoproom belonged to the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC), a Government organisation. The DTPC then leased the space to others. The women entrepreneurs alleged that the DTPC’s action was politically motivated.
However, DTPC authorities rejected the allegations of women entrepreneurs. They claimed that they faced an audit objection regarding leasing out the space to the same group of entrepreneurs for ten years, so they leased it to different people. They stated that the decision was based on a legal tender process.
The air conditioners, furniture, and fixtures have become redundant and useless. They will be unusable if they are left unused for some time.
Kudumbashree is the poverty eradication and women empowerment program implemented by the State Poverty Eradication Mission (SPEM) under the Government of Kerala. In Malayalam, ‘Kudumbashree’ means ‘prosperity of the family.’ It is also called the ‘Kudumbashree Mission,’ ‘SPEM,’ or ‘Kudumbashree Community Network.’ It was launched in 1997 following the recommendations of a three-member Task Force appointed by the state government. Its formation was in accordance with the devolution of powers to the Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs). From 2000 to 2002, the Kudumbashree community network was extended to cover the entire state in three phases. Membership is open to all adult women, limited to one membership per family. In 2011, the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) recognized Kudumbashree as the State Rural Livelihoods Mission (SRLM) under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM).
Kudumbashree is essentially a community network with the entire state as its jurisdiction. Its three-tier system consists of Neighbourhood Groups (NHGs) as primary-level units, Area Development Societies (ADS) at the Ward/Division level, and Community Development Societies (CDS) at the Local Self-Government level like Panchayat, Block, Municipality, and Municipal Corporation. It is said that it is one of the largest women’s networks in the world.
Recently, there were complaints about CPM workers when they reportedly coerced the Kudumbasree workers and members to attend the Nav Kerala Sadas, the much-publicised programme of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government headed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the CPM Polit Bureau member. In this regard, even voice messages of the Party functionaries were doing the rounds in TV channels and social media. CPM leaders allegedly compelled Kudumbashree members to participate in one or another programme. During the recently concluded election campaigns. Pathanamthitta District Collector, in his capacity as the District Election Officer, warned T.M. Thomas Isaac, former CPM Minister and LDF candidate in the Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituency for using the Kudumbashree movement for election campaign. The order came in light of the complaint filed by the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) that Thomas Isaac violated the Election Rules by participating in the official programme of Kudumbashree.
