True Colors of Comarades
Kerala CPM snubs VS, says no more land reforms
August 10, 2008 ,Shaju Philip, Indian Express
Thiruvananthapuram, August 9: Making its cherished road to neo-liberalism clear of the ideological hurdles put up by Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, the CPI(M) state committee on Saturday declared that enough was enough of the land reforms, which the party inherited in Kerala.
The decision of the state committee, including loyalists of state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, would give a setback to his arch rival and Politburo member V S Achuthandan, who publicly asserted on November 22, 2007, that the time was ripe for a second round of land reforms. He then said “ if there was at least one Communist left in Kerala Government, the state would go ahead with land reforms¶.
The state committee, in an official release, said the second land reforms proposed by “certain extremist groups¶ was mere blather, which would divide society.
The CPI(M) had always taken pride in the land reforms in Kerala as it was the Government under late E M S Namboothiripad who had passed the historical land reforms legislation. The party’s Right-wing deviation would have far-reaching consequences in the state’s politics and social sector.
The party decision was based on the three-day discussion on guidelines for its Government in the state. The guidelines, presented by central committee member and Finance Minister, were meant for moving forward the reformist agenda of the official faction led by Pinarayi.
The guidelines were presented in the CPI(M) State Committee by Central Committee member and Finance Minister Thomas Issac on Thursday. Deliberations on the instructions, which the party has made out as the growth plan for the state, were held in the state committee meeting on Friday too. Considering the brutal majority the official faction enjoys in the committee, the proposed guidelines would get ratified.
The guidelines said the Left stand had delayed several developmental projects. On recommending SEZ status for projects, Achuthanandan’s line had been opposite to that of Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem. Achuthanandan was chary of the real estate interest of the investor and the thriving land mafia in Kerala.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/346838.html
Kerala CPM dumps land reforms
10 Aug 2008, Ananthakrishnan G,TNN
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Marking a sea change in its policies, the Kerala unit of CPM on Saturday decided to distance itself from further land reforms, something which was close to chief minister V S Achutanandan’s heart, and take the plunge to attract private investment on a largescale.
A two-day state committee meeting of the party held in Thiruvananthapuram resolved that private investment was important for the development of the state and set the target at Rs 25,000 crore in the next three years.
But more significantly it rejected the idea of a second land reform, a pet project of Achutanandan. Political observes interpret it as a total decimation of the VS line and a faction within the party. Radical groups were spreading canards and illogical ideas in the name of the second land reforms, the party said after the meet indicating clearly that the acquisition of thousands of hectares of land owned by the ¶bourgeoisie¶ and their re-distribution among the landless peasants would only remain a dream.
The decision comes at a time when the state is witnessing a massive struggle by about 5,000 tribal and peasant families at Chengara in Pathanamthitta district. These landless peasants are seeking ownership of cultivable land now possessed by a plantation group, Harrison’s Malayalam Private Ltd. The move also poses a question mark over Achutanandan’s much acclaimed Munnar reclamation drive.
