Politics of social justice absent from electoral discourse: M.N. Karassery

Debates around the “politics of social justice” are conspicuous by their absence as Kerala is all set to face back-to-back elections in the coming months, social critic M.N. Karassery says.

In an interview to The Hindu, he points out that all political parties are now busy talking about development alone, which can’t be called an ideology. “It was the Kerala Congress, which first spoke about development as an ideology. Its leaders wanted to show that they were different from the Congress. But, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Josef Stalin too talked about development,” Mr. Karassery says.

He notes that ensuring social justice is more important than bringing in development. “The Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, has huge and impressive buildings and good infrastructure, but K.K. Harshina, a home-maker, is yet to get justice from the authorities there [after a surgical instrument was reportedly left behind in her stomach following a medical procedure].,” he says.

Similarly, Bindu, a Dalit woman from Thiruvananthapuram, was taken into police custody after she was accused of theft. “The police used abusive language against her when she sought some water to drink. Ms. Bindu was later found to be innocent. The same police ensured that Unnikrishnan Potti, the accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case, got his favourite vegetarian food while in custody because he is a Brahmin. Where is social justice here?” Mr. Karassery asks.

The academic and writer avers that he is not against road development and other infrastructure works. “But, do we have any development in agriculture? Thousands of farmers committed suicide in Wayanad in recent years. What about women’s safety? Empowerment of Dalits and adivasis? There has been no let up in moral policing incidents. Public educational institutions are losing their sheen. Those run by various castes and communities are mushrooming,” he says.

However, Mr. Karassery finds the political Opposition in the State, the United Democratic Front (UDF), incapable of mounting an offensive against the State government. The impression that the UDF is going to replace the Left Democratic Front is slowly getting weakened now. “The Congress is plagued by two problems. One is the political flip-flops by Shashi Tharoor, MP, who could have emerged as a compromise Chief Ministerial candidate amid the warring factions in their State unit. There is a feeling that he is on his way to the BJP. His book ‘Why I am a Hindu?’ could give a wrong message in this context.”

The second is the charges against Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, he says. “He should have quit the post of MLA on the same day when the allegations of sexual misconduct were raised against him. Congress leaders claim that he has been suspended from the party’s primary membership and the legislature party. But, that’s not enough. Mr. Mamkootathil won the election with a huge margin because of the support of a large number of neutral voters. Congress candidates in many places will have to answer their queries,” he says.

The writer also finds the UDF’s “tie-up” with the Welfare Party of India problematic. “The Congress will lose its moral right to oppose an Islamic theocratic State. If it can join hands with the Jamaat-e-Islami, how can the Congress accuse the CPI(M) of having a secret tie up with the BJP?”, he asks. Calling the current situation “unpredictable”, Mr. Karassery says he won’t be surprised if Pinarayi Vijayan gets a third term in power.

Meanwhile, he also claims that the BJP could benefit electorally from the Global Ayyappa Sangamam and the Sabarimala gold theft case. “Sabarimala is an emotive issue for many people, cutting across caste, community, and religion. The alleged theft there will surely strike a chord among the voters,” he adds.