The Hindu : Front Page : Left must have greater space in polity, says Ramachandran Pillai

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 11, 2005

Front Page

Front Page

Left must have greater space in polity, says Ramachandran Pillai

Special Correspondent

National seminar on `governance and development' concludes

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M) S. Ramachandran Pillai has said that the Left must occupy a greater space in the polity if it is to intervene decisively in national policies.

Inaugurating the valedictory session of the three-day national seminar on `Governance and Development,' organised by the C. Achutha Menon Foundation, here on Saturday, Mr. Pillai pointed out that though successive Left-led Governments in Kerala could do much for the State's progress, these gains could not be sustained as the national policies often ran counter to the spirit with which the Left launched various initiatives. Each change of Government meant dumping of the Left-led initiatives. The People's Plan Campaign was an excellent case in point, he said.

The Left in Kerala still faced major challenges from communal forces.

These challenges could be overcome only if the Left devised policies that would help the State prosper and keep the communal and other vested interests at bay. This also called for a greater role for the Left in the national political scene for only then can the Left play a decisive role in the national level policy formulation process, he added.

On the economic choices before the Left, he said though a future Left-led Government in Kerala might be forced to seek private capital and even foreign investment to facilitate the State's growth, it would do only after by driving a hard bargain. The only investment that had no strings attached to it would be accepted and the primary criteria would be the State's development. The Left or the political community in Kerala could not rest happy with the gains that had been made so far, given the serious shortfalls in the economy and ailments in Kerala society, he added.

Earlier, presenting the theme paper in the session on `Growth and Development: Need for New Perceptions,' economist M. A. Oommen said the decentralisation experiment in Kerala marked a great stride towards decentralised governance, democracy and development and opened up great avenues for people's participation in governance. He pointed out that certain micro level studies had shown its great potential for enhancing agricultural production, poverty reduction and women's emancipation.

He wondered why, despite all this, a large section of the bureaucracy, the middle class and several political parties did not favour it and why the beneficiary committee system, designed to reduce corruption and increase transparency, shot down.

He also felt that `public action,' as was being practised in Kerala today, was seriously flawed and said that there was need to restore the spirit of the past.

The seminar, which covered several issues relating to governance, development and globalisation, concluded with a call to reinvent the political in Kerala's public life. Economist K. Ramachandran chaired the valedictory function. C. K. Chandrappan, MP, spoke.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page