THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala may be widely regarded as a secular state with a progressive face and unique features but the recent formulas doing the rounds for accommodating a fifth minister from the Muslim League clearly show the deep cracks on the ‘mask’ it wears.The present imbroglio seems to be more complex than solving a Rubik’s Cube. The formulas to solve the confusion over the Cabinet posts, which come around to one third of the total UDF seats, ie., 24 out of 72, become more complex for the so-called ‘caste and communal equations’. The branding of ministers and Legislative Assembly members as belonging to some particular caste or religion would uproot the fundamentals of our democracy, feel some social critics.‘’The demand for a fifth minister by a party may be unjust but counting the Legislative Assembly members in the name of caste and religion would demean both the democracy and the people who elected the members to the Assembly. The ministers cease to be of any particular caste once they assume the oath of office. These kind of discussions show that the so-called development in Kerala is on the reverse gear and our democracy has not come of ages,’’ social critic M N Karassery says. SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappalli Natesan said that the present discussions would prove detrimental to the state’s social fabric in future. ‘’None of these parties are winning on their own, but as part of a political front - either the UDF or the LDF. But, after forming a government, some parties behave as though they belong to a single community and the appointments they make reflect their communal colour and as a result leaves a scar on the other communities,’’ he told ‘Express.’ Veteran journalist and social activist B R P Bhaskar observed that it was the so-called ‘liberation struggle’ which brought the communal elements into the mainstream politics. ‘’Caste consciousness was always there. But it was kept under wraps. It was brought into the mainstream by the organisations which were termed as the so-called renaissance movements,’’ he said. ‘’Political parties may be secular in nature but their base are narrow. As per the records, the CPM has 80 per cent of its members from the majority community and yet they are worried about the shrinking presence of minority sects in their fold. In the last LDF Ministry, the CPI had four members and all of them belonged to a particular caste. Earlier, Muslim League had five Cabinet posts including, four ministers. But nobody had raised any questions, as is being aired now. Of late, the Congress party in the state is widely considered as a party, controlled by the groups whose leaders are identified with caste or religious interests. Hence, the questions about communal imbalance,’’ Bhaskar said.
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