Leftist poet Sachidanandan, former Secretary of the Sahitya Akademi and member of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, came down heavily on the state government in connection with the ASHA workers’ agitation, which has been going on for over a month. He was addressing Pourasagaram, the programme organised to express solidarity with the ASHA workers’ agitation. Sachidanandan said the state government had become instrumental in prolonging the strike. He remarked that if the state takes pride in Kerala’s health sector, the credit goes to the ASHA workers.
There is no logic in telling poor ASHA workers to go to Delhi for agitation. The protest is for a just cause. He wondered whether the government could not resolve the matter by granting at least a small increment in wages to the workers. The poet said the government’s stance was quite unfortunate, as it did not give women the consideration they deserve. Sachidanandan asserted that a government should not speak the language of corporate CEOs and ‘right-wing fascists’. The words of an ardent Leftist like Sachidanandan have sent shockwaves through the Left camp led by the CPM.
Leftist activist Dr Khadeeja Mumtaz, in her address, sharply criticised the state government for ignoring the just demands of the ASHA workers. Writer and poet Rosemary, environmentalist C.R. Neelakantan, Fr Vijin Tharayil, Dr Reji Kuttappan, Dr K.C. Kannan, Joseph C. Mathew, and M.P. Mathai also addressed the gathering.
Now that prominent Leftists have publicly criticised the ‘Left’ government from their own ideological school, the CPM and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan are cutting sorry figures before the people of Kerala. Usually, these “prominent” citizens do not utter a word against the CPM. Yet, when workers of the RSS, BJP or any other Sangh-inspired organisation are accused in any case—even if fabricated—these people issue joint statements and hold candlelit protests. But when Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader Jayakrishnan Master was brutally butchered in a Kannur school, in front of his students while teaching the 6th Standard, they did not utter a word against the CPM killers. Though, the this latest development is a welcome one.
The ASHA issue is not the only concern for Keralites. Candidates from the Public Service Commission (PSC) rank list for Woman Civil Police Officers have been agitating in front of the Secretariat for the past few days. Their rank list will expire on 19 April, with only three working days left due to Vishu and Easter holidays. On 12 April, the rank holders opted for a novel form of protest: standing on one foot, with folded hands, on a surface covered with rock salt. The candidates made it clear they would fight until their last breath. They had studied hard to secure a place on the rank list. They stated that appointment from the list is their right, and that is all they are asking for.
On another day, they protested by begging in the streets with begging bowls in their hands—pleading with the authorities for justice. On a different occasion, they demonstrated by performing etham—a form of corporal punishment where one crosses the hands over the ears and squats—admitting sarcastically that it was their “fault” they studied well and made it to the list. On yet another day, they knelt on a floor covered with rock salt.
Their demand is to extend the validity of the rank list and expedite the appointments.
These two different agitations highlight the growing anger of the grassroots against Pinarayi Vijayan’s corrupt and anti-people government.
