Kerala's half-yearly report card all red

Thiruvananthapuram: Six months after veteran communist politician V S Achuthanandan became chief minister of Kerala against all odds, his progress report gives little cause for celebration.

Expectations from the 83-year-old leader were sky high after he came to contest the assembly elections despite resistance from a faction within his Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).

Eventually, he led the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to win 99 of the 140 seats in the Kerala assembly.

He had won many accolades as leader of the opposition in 2001-06, especially for taking up the issue of unaccounted deaths in police custody and farmers' welfare when agrarian suicides hogged headlines during the Oommen Chandy rule.

However, in the past six months, Achuthanandan has found out that things are different when one is in power.

His first test came when one of his ministers, P J Joseph, allegedly outraged the modesty of a woman on a flight. Contrary to his promise that he would be strict in dealing with cases of crime against women, the chief minister refused to take any action against Joseph till media outcry forced the minister to step down.

Moreover, the state recorded 15 custodial deaths in the four months after he took charge of the office, and critics were quick to point out his own campaign over the issue when he led the opposition.

His promises for farmers' welfare have failed to materialise and agrarian suicides continue unabated.

"We had given six months to the new government and that period is over. The government has failed on all fronts," Opposition leader Oommen Chandy said.

State Congress president Ramesh Chennithala pointed out that the real problem was that there were two secretariats functioning in Kerala.

"One secretariat is where Achuthanandan sits and the other one at the CPI-M headquarters which really is one that dictates terms and decides what needs to be done. Achuthanandan is helpless," said Chennithala.

K. Karunakaran, who served as chief minister for four terms, said he was disappointed with Achuthanandan.

"The issues in his party have seriously affected the smooth functioning of his government and there is no coordination among his ministers," said Karunakaran, who quit the Congress last year and merged his new outfit with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) - an ally of the ruling Left Democratic Front – on Sunday.

But CPI-M state secretary Pinnarayi Vijayan, the chief minister's ival in the party, said the Achuthanandan government was very much on the right track.

"The LDF has won the by-elections in various wards in the local bodies. Isn't this a sign that the government is doing its job?" said Vijayan.

Said P.C. George, a legislator of the Kerala Congress (Secular), an LDF member: "Achuthanandan's cabinet has several new faces. They were bound to take some time to get a feel of things."

While political leaders have given their verdict on the six months of the Achuthanandan government, people's verdict could be reflected in the December 4 by-poll in the Thiruvambadi Assembly constituency.