Former Mizoram Governor and BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Thiruvananthapuram Kummanam Rajasekharan is confident that the people have realised that the CPI and the Congress failed to deliver. He shares his views on why the Left will face a backlash for the way its government handled the Sabarimala protests and evades commenting on the NSS.
Excerpts of an interview with Opinion Editor Viju Cherian:
Q: How would you evaluate your campaign so far?
A: As far as the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) is concerned, the support has been extremely energising. This is a good sign for the NDA. Till date, people have opted for either the LDF (Left Democratic Front) or the UDF (United Democratic Front) and a positive response for the NDA is a sign that the people want change. The NDA’s strength is in the fact that the people have realised that, over the years, both the LDF and the UDF have done precious little for them.
Q: Among your main opponents, one is a sitting MP and the other is a strong LDF leader. How do you see them?
A: Under the LDF and the UDF leaderships, people have been ignored, sidelined and abandoned, and that is still fresh in their memory. The sitting MP (Congress’ Shashi Tharoor) has been representing the constituency for 10 years, but what has he done? The other (CPI’s C Divakaran) was a minister, and what did he do? What did both the LDF and the UDF do for this constituency? Such a question gains importance because the problems faced by jobless youth, sidelined communities and women are serious. So, if strength is derived from the support people give, both candidates do not have the people’s support.
As far as the NDA is concerned, [Prime Minister] Narendra Modi has implemented numerous people-friendly policies and that has caught the imagination of the nation.
Moreover, what role can the LDF and the UDF play at the national level? What role can the Left parties play in national politics? Who is its PM candidate? Which is the coalition it will be forming? What is its financial policy? There is no clarity in any of these issues? A similar confusion is there in the Congress as well. Its PM candidate was in the lookout for a safe seat and finally settled for Wayanad. Neither of these parties have been able to give a clear picture as to what is their plan for India.
Q: I am coming from Pathanamthitta and many people I spoke to, especially in Aranmula where you have worked considerably, wished that you’d stood from there for the election. How do you react to that?
A: People have different expectations. Many have wished that I stood from Kottayam because I’m from Kottayam, and I studied and worked there.
Q: However, Pathanamthitta is considered a strong seat for the BJP?
A: Yes, that does not mean that I should contest from there. There’s no limit for such wishes. Some wish I stood from Kozhikode, because after the Marad issue (where communal clashes between the Hindus and Muslims took place in 2002 and 2003) I worked there extensively for a long time. Through my work, I built long associations with all groups there.
Q: Could you highlight the promises you are making to the people this time?
A: First is national security, second is protection of religious beliefs and third is development.
Q: When you say protection of religious beliefs, are you referring to the events that have unfolded in Sabarimala?
A: It includes protection of the religious beliefs of Christians, Muslims and Hindus.
Q: The Left government’s decisions on the Sabarimala issue has come under criticism from various quarters. Do you think it will reflect on their electoral performance this time?
A: On this issue, they [the Left] will face a backlash. Even now, the [state] government is targeting those who participated in those protests by framing false cases. They are being persecuted. This is religious persecution. Many, including candidates, are being trapped in case after case. Isn’t this a fascist trait! Wasn’t it Hitler who adopted such an approach? In Kerala, we have witnessed a Communist leader turning into a dictator, into a fascist.
Till date, Kerala had not witnessed a protest like the one we saw on the Sabarimala issue. Neither the Left nor the Congress have organised such a massive protest. On this issue, the Congress was with the government and the aim of the Left was to defeat this protest. So when both these forces joined hands, the people were ready to oppose them.
This is not a communal issue, nor is it a problem one particular religion is facing. This is a people’s movement to safeguard a constitutional right the people have. Tomorrow, the Christians could face a similar problem, say at the [St Thomas] church at Malayatoor [in Aluva, near Kochi], or the Muslims at Beemapally [a mosque in Thiruvananthapuram], this could happen anywhere. So this is not just a Hindu problem, but a problem mankind is facing.
Q: Recently the NSS (Nair Service Society) released a statement reiterating its policy of equidistance from all political parties and criticized political parties, including the BJP, for politicising the Sabarimala protests. How do you look at that statement playing out among voters?
A: The NSS is an independent, societal organisation which has the freedom to take its own decisions. I will not comment on it.
Q: Will the stand taken by the NSS have an effect in this constituency?
A: The NSS is an organisation which suffered a lot and took part in the Sabarimala issue. So let it give its views. Every election, it makes its views known.
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