Post deluge, it is Kerala’s hour of need

On Saturday, Kerala observed Onam, perhaps t he dampest and gloomiest ever in the history of the state. This year, instead of bringing happiness and prosperity, the traditional post-harvest festival of Malayalis has opened the floodgates of sorrow, submerging the southern state in a sea of misery, claiming over 370 lives and hundreds of thousands rendered homeless. The deluge that devastated the state has still left more than 13.5 lakh in temporary shelters and rescue homes, mostly in the five districts of Ernakulam, Aalappuzha, Thrissur, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta in central Kerala, which bore the brunt of the incessant rains and the floods. While an uncertain future stares at most of those in the camps, thousands outside are busy trying to restore the re- mains of their homes, whatever is left. While the state machinery and the people of the state with support from all over the country stood up to the unexpected fury of nature, the wounds it has inflicted on the lives of millions will take a long time to heal. As the state undertakes a mammoth rehabilitation work hitherto unheard of in the country, the government is being unnecessarily dragged into unwanted controversies, concerning within and outside the state. The Opposition in the state, mainly Congress, which stood shoulder to shoulder by the side the Left Front government in all its efforts to keep the state afloat, has now come out saying the enormity of the floods could have been contained had the government done its homework properly. The other emerging Opposition in the state, BJP is finding fault with the government in soliciting flood relief from outside, mainly the Muslim Gulf countries. The CPM- led Left Front government on its part has put the blame on the neighbouring Tamil Nadu for worsening the flood situation in the state by opening the shutters of the Mullaperiyar dam under its jurisdiction, without providing any prior information to the state authorities.

“It is a fact that we received 41.41% more rain this time in Kerala. But that was not the reason why the deluge worsened. Opening of 44 dams without any prior notice was the real reason for such a massive flood,” Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala told a news conference, the day the rain gods relented. “While nine dams were opened together in river Pampa, eleven dams in Idukki and Ernakulam districts and six in the Chalakkudy river were opened. The government had no idea about the area that would get flooded,” Chennithala added. However Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the same evening that Chennithala had contradicted his own Facebook posts that clearly suggested people were alerted on time. Indeed, Chennithala’s post gave the impression that everything was in order and there was nothing to worry about. But the question still remains whether those living in interior parts of the area too knew about the impending danger. On hindsight it looks that only those in the towns were aware of the government designs and the machinery did fail to warn others in time. So instead of brushing aside all criticism as “anti-Vijayan” and “anti-CPM”, a constant refrain by government spokesmen on TV discussions, it would be wise for the government to look into the aspects raised by the Opposition. Ordering a judicial inquiry will only add to the burden of the state exchequer as was seen umpteen times in the past. What is needed is a thorough study by experts as to the pitfalls and how to overcome the same in future. Kerala is one state which gets excessive rains and there is every pos- sibility that a disaster, if not of such magnitude, can happen again. As the CM said, “Calamities would haunt us in future too. But how we are avoiding casualties is going to be one of our critical objectives.” Wise words worth remembering while in power.

Regarding the controversy surrounding foreign aid, Chief Minister Vijayan may have made a mistake by making public a private conversation he had with leading Malayali industrialist Yusuf Ali, who has enormous business interests in the Gulf. Rather than questioning the veracity or the quantum of aid, those who are criticising Vijayan must realise his concern in rebuilding the state for which enormous funds are needed. If India could help other countries in times of crisis, there is nothing wrong in India or an Indian state accepting such aid from outside. It is no big deal in making exceptions when the case is genuine even if a rule exists barring such aids. It is creditable on the part of Vijayan that all along he had deliberately kept himself out of any controversy regarding Central aid. Not once had he said anything against Prime Minister Narendra Modi or the BJP. So it was unwarranted on the part of state BJP president P. S. Sreedharan Pillai to drag in politics by saying “a vicious smear campaign was unleashed against the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi” regarding Centre’s rejection of foreign aid. The need of the hour is to keep politics out and concentrate on rebuilding the lives of millions and the economy of a state. So far CM Vijayan has been doing a job worth praising. And as he has put it, “Kerala requires a different yardstick...Help from all around the world will go a long way in our efforts to overcome this calamity.” It would be advisable for others, irrespective of political affiliations, to give a helping hand to him rather than trying to pull him down. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has given both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP chief, Amit Shah a reason to smile. He, despite being a principal Opposition leader, has inadvertently or consciously provided his opponents enough ammunition to demolish any chances his party may have had in redeeming itself in the 2019 Parliamentary polls.

During his recent trip to Germany and the United Kingdom, Rahul, through his bizarre statements and illustrations, has beyond any doubt demonstrated that he was totally unprepared to lead the country. He has drawn incoherent linkages regarding issues, and has attempted to irreverently compare the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to the radical Muslim Brotherhood, which in several countries has been classified as a terror outfit. In the process, he has walked into the saffron trap, and many in the Congress itself have pronounced him as the BJP’s star campaigner.

There are multiple points that get raised while analysing Rahul’s recent foreign trip, undertaken at the invitation of reputed organisations, such as the Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) and the London School of Economics. Firstly, he had not been adequately briefed on the subjects he was speaking on. Secondly, not sufficient homework had been done for him to go into the background of issues that he sought to take on. Finally, most important is the fact, that since by his own admission, he has repeatedly said that he wants to with dignity and decorum pursue public life, where was the need to wash dirty domestic linen on foreign soil?

It is a fact that the politics of raising domestic matters overseas was initiated by Narendra Modi during his public interactions in the United States and the UK. However, does this provide a licence to the Congress to replicate this aberration in the political discourse of the country; this is inconsistent with the traditions that had been followed in the past. The healthy convention prior to this deviation was that while abroad, political leaders irrespective of their parties, would project a united stand, and if they harboured sharp differences, they were to be settled on designated forums, such as Parliament.

Many years ago, P.V. Narasimha Rao as Prime Minister had sent Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then a frontline Opposition leader, to lead the Indian delegation to a United Nations platform. Salman Khurshid, a Minister in the Union government, was a part of the entourage which was spearheaded by Vajpayee. Needless to say, the Indian contingent accomplished their mission with flying colours returning home without, in an alien environment, sparring with each other. That is the spirit which needs to be revived.

Unfortunately those who have been aiding and advising Rahul have chosen a path never followed by any other Congress leader in the past. They are unaware of the rich legacy of the party that has been nurtured by luminaries such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose and Vallabhbhai Patel amongst others. Therefore, by adopting a strategy which was in variance with the accepted norms, they have allowed the Congress to be further relegated in the political space.

To his credit, Rahul did raise several important points but was criticised on account of his creating inconsistent linkages. As an illustration: how are joblessness and lynching interrelated? As stand-alone issues both unemployment and lynching are extremely relevant, and can be acutely disconcerting for the government, but once a connection is attempted to be established, it makes light of the entire argument. In the past, the RSS by many of its adversaries has been accused of being fascist, yet no one has ever denounced it as a terrorist organisation.

In fact, Rahul’s father, Rajiv Gandhi, and grandmother, Indira Gandhi, shared a comfortable rapport with the RSS, which in the overall interest of the country latently supported the Congress, both in 1980 and 1984. Nehru was an open critic of the RSS and still invited its contingent to participate in the Republic Day celebrations of 1963 so as to acknowledge its immense contribution in the civil defence duties during the Indo-Chinese conflict. Bracketing the RSS with the Muslim Brotherhood diluted Rahul’s larger point, which was that the Sangh was trying to infiltrate several government institutions for the expansion of its influence.

Rahul needs to know that the media coverage to his trips, both in the country and abroad, is tactically and selectively facilitated by his BJP opponents so as to showcase him in diminished light. On occasions, his statements are twisted, and thus convey a completely different meaning from what he intended to say. This happens because those counselling him are themselves unacquainted with pivotal political matters, and go by theoretical assumptions. Sam Pitroda, for instance, can be a close family friend who facilitated the Telecom Revolution but he is not a person who comprehends the Machiavellian genre of our politics. Same is the case with many leaders who are supporting Rahul for the furtherance of their own political careers. Their primary objective is to usurp key positions, through his patronage, rather than working their way up in the political arena. The Congress president must work on strengthening the organisation’s infrastructure that during his predecessor’s time had become enfeebled. He could consider maintaining a low-profile, since his much-publicised visits abroad have not reaped any political dividends. By remaining in the news, he simply is assisting the BJP. Between Us.