By
P. Sreekumaran
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A deft political
move from the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) has knocked the stuffings
out of the criticism levelled by the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF)
and the Sangh Parivar against the move to organize a women’s wall on January 1,
2019.
The
State Secretariat of the CPI(M) has successfully blunted the edge of opposition
criticism that the women’s wall is aimed at dividing communities by deciding to
invite organisations of the minority communities as well to join the campaign.
The decision has taken the sting out of the criticism that the wall seeks to
deepen the communal divide by enlisting the support of Hindu community forums
alone for the event.
In
a development that must boost the spirits of the LDF, women belonging to the
minority organisations have since expressed their readiness to participate in
the event in large numbers. In another significant development, the Head of the
Syro Malabar Church Cardinal George Alencherry has justified the government’s
move to organize the women’s wall by saying that it had every right to do so.
Any programme that seeks to create awareness in society about the women’s
rights is welcome, the Cardinal opined.
Needless
to say, the Cardinal’s statement has come as a shot in the arm of the LDF.
Indications are that a formal invitation to the Church to join the event may be
issued soon.
The
expression of readiness to participate in the event by minority organizations
must have dismayed the Sangh Parivar and the UDF, which have been pulling out
all stops to ensure that the women’s wall is a big flop. The frustration of the
Congress is clear from the directive issued by Kerala Pradesh Congress
Committee (KPCC) president Mullappally Ramachandran. The KPCC circular has
warned Congressmen against joining the women’s wall “being formed by the CPI(M)
using government resources.”
The
LDF’s invitation to minority organisations amounts to a stinging rebuff to the
Nair Service Society (NSS), the powerful organisation of the Nairs in the
state. The NSS, it may be mentioned, had asked its members not to participate
in the women’s wall programme.
Understandably,
the NSS decision has soured its otherwise warm relations with the LDF
government. LDF leaders have made no secret of their displeasure over the NSS
decision. Both CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and CPI state
secretary Kanam Rajendran have criticised the NSS stance. By deciding to
abstain from the wall, the NSS has shed its much-hyped policy of equidistance,
Kodiyeri and Kanam pointed out. The NSS betrayed its bias by also giving the go-ahead
to its members to participate in the “Ayyappa Jyothi” organized on December 26
by the Sabarimala Karma Samithi, which enjoys the support of the Sangh Parivar.
Meanwhile,
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has demolished the malicious opposition propaganda
that the LDF is misusing government funds to finance the programme. There is no
truth in the allegations that the government is pumping in huge amounts of
money to organize the programme. The propaganda was the figment of imagination
of the opposition parties and the Sangh Parivar frustrated and alarmed by the
certainty of the programme’s success, Vijayan asserted.
The
550-km-long women’s wall from Kasargod in the North to Thirivananthapuram in
the south symbolises the state’s determination to safeguard the renaissance
values.
In
another development that must further lift LDF spirits, the state leadership of
the Kerala Pulayar Mahila Federation (KPMF) has decided to field five lakh
women for the programme. The convener of the women’s wall programme, Punnala
Sreekumar, who is also the secretary of the Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha (KPMS),
expects over 28 lakh women to participate in the event, which seeks to promote
the concept of gender equality and empowerment of women. (IPA Service)
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