Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State secretary M.V. Govindan has said that the former Chief Minister and Congress veteran A.K. Antony had “belatedly” realised that his government had committed a grave mistake by sending police into Sivagiri Madhom to settle an election dispute in 1995 and also by using lethal force, which claimed two lives, including that of a law enforcer, during the forcible eviction of Adivasis from Muthanga forests under his watch in 2003.
He said Mr. Antony, after a hiatus of 21 years, had finally validated the CPI(M)‘s stated position. The CPI(M) had vehemently opposed Mr. Antony’s “ill-considered use of force” against landless Adivasis and the Madhom established by social reformer Sree Narayana Guru.
Mr. Govindan noted that the Congress Legislative Party’s (CLP) failure to defend criticism from treasury benches about the dismal human rights and law and order track record of the Antony government had forced the octogenarian to defend himself by expressing remorse for his Sivagiri and Muthanga “misadventures”.
‘Frayed relations in UDF’
Mr. Govindan alleged that the Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan’s “blanket opposition” to Kerala’s development had caused relations to fray in the United Democratic Front (UDF). “The Indian Union Muslim League has pointedly disregarded Mr. Satheesan’s call to boycott the government’s development conclave in Malappuram and thrown the party’s lot in with the initiative for the district’s development,” he said.
