M V Govindan's goof-up leaves CPM red-faced on Nilambur bypoll eve
T'PURAM/KOZHIKODE : An off-the-cuff remark by CPM state secretary M V Govindan on the eve of the Nilambur by-election has left the LDF camp embarrassed, forcing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan himself to launch a fire-fighting mission.
The UDF, which was on the defensive over its tie-up with the Welfare Party - the political wing of the Jama'at-e-Islami - was quick to sense the opportunity Govindan opened up by his remarks on the CPM's association with the RSS in opposing the Emergency in the 1970s. The UDF is relieved that the CPM-RSS ties took the spotlight on Wednesday, pushing its association with the Jama'at to the sidelines.
After his remarks on the RSS, in a Malayalam channel, kicked up a controversy, Govindan convened a press conference to accuse the media of 'twisting' his statements. 'History should be viewed in historical perspective. There is a concerted effort to create controversy over the statement I made about the Emergency 50 years ago,' he said.
Govindan asserted that the CPM has had no cooperation or understanding with the RSS till now. 'This was the case in the past, as it will be in the future... The CPM and the Janata Party, which was formed by dissolving various socialist parties, had an electoral understanding to fight the Emergency. The Janata Party and the Jan Sangha were two separate entities,' he said.
In damage-control mode, Pinarayi Vijayan says CPM never appeased RSS
Sensing that things were getting out of hand, Pinarayi converted his press conference in Thiruvananthapuram into a salvage mission. Making his party's position clear, he said the CPM has never had any sort of agreement with the RSS. 'We have never appeased the RSS. However, we have seen certain individuals bowing to pictures of those revered by the RSS. We have also seen a former KPCC president boasting about providing protection to RSS shakhas,' he said.
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The Hindu
39 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Review of Srinath Raghavan's new book on Indira Gandhi
Srinath Raghavan's latest book, Indira Gandhi and the Years That Transformed India, examines her political career as India's long 1970s. It takes a chronological arc: her assumption of prime ministerial office in 1966, her struggle to take tight control of the Congress party, her landslide electoral win of 1971, thereafter her leadership of the country in the war with Pakistan, the imposition of Emergency, loss to the Janata Party in 1977, her stint in opposition, return to office in 1980 and her assassination in 1984. Placing this extended decade in a global context, Raghavan argues that 'the long 1970s were the hinge on which the contemporary history of India turned, transforming the young postcolonial country into today's India.' In an interview, Raghavan explains various ideas and events that marked these tumultuous years. Excerpts: In this political history of the Indira Gandhi years, a word that recurs repeatedly is Caesarist/Caesarism. In your view, is it central to understanding the changes that she oversaw, and how it transformed the Indian polity? Caesarism refers to a style of politics in which the leader seeks directly to connect with the people, bypassing party structures or the parliament. I found it useful to understand an important change in the Indian politics ushered in by Indira Gandhi – more useful than currently modish terms such as populist or charismatic. Democratic politics has, by definition, an element of populism. And charisma is only one aspect of the Caesarist style of leadership. Was she already inclined to the Caesarist style? Did her style shift-shape along the way? Indira Gandhi adopted this mode of leadership in response to the specific problems confronting the Congress party. The party's drab performance in the 1967 elections underlined its inability to carry with it significant sections of the electorate. At the same time, it accentuated the power struggle within the party between the prime minister and the regional grandees who controlled the machine. Indira Gandhi moved towards a Caesarist style both to undercut her rivals in the party and revive its electoral fortunes. Her decision to split the Congress was undoubtedly a crucial first step. But equally important were the extraordinary performance of her party in the general elections of 1971 and the decisive military victory over Pakistan later the same year. These, in turn, propelled the party to a massive win in the State elections of 1972. None of these could have been predicted when she broke the old Congress. But cumulatively they cemented her control of the party. Without such dominance it is difficult to imagine the party tamely falling in with her decision to impose the Emergency in June 1975. The triumphs of 1971-2 to the imposition of Emergency in 1975 and the rapid consolidation of the Emergency regime — do you see a vein of risk-taking running through the entire arc? Or did, as in the popular view, fortitude give way to paranoia? I don't see her as an inveterate risk-taker. Rather she had a sharp, instinctive grasp of power relations (whether in domestic or international politics), an instinctive sense of timing and a willingness to make bold choices. These qualities worked for her in the crises of the early years, but they also led to counterproductive outcomes in later years—not only the Emergency but also her handling of the problems in Punjab, Assam and Jammu and Kashmir during her final term in office. All along, she tended to blame difficult situations on the machinations of her domestic or international opponents. This made her somewhat impervious to introspecting on her own choices and their consequences. Yet, as her bete noire Henry Kissinger once said, even the paranoid can have real enemies. You write that 'the long 1970s placed the Indian economy on the road to liberalisation, if only via a crooked path'. Do you think this point remains little appreciated? Indeed. The received wisdom on Indira Gandhi's economic policies is that they were 'socialist' and they tightened the grip of the state on private capital. This is true, but it is also a partial picture. In fact, the heyday of nationalisation and state control in the early 1970s proved brief, though it was damaging enough. The embrace of these policies coincided with the onset of a global economic crisis triggered by the collapse of the Bretton Woods system of stable exchange rates and the oil shocks that followed the Arab-Israel war of 1973. Such was the impact of this global crisis on the Indian economy that Indira Gandhi was forced to embrace conservative macroeconomic policies and move in the direction of liberalising controls on the economy. Before and during the Emergency as well as in her last term in office she adopted strong anti-inflationary policies. During these periods, she also espoused pro-business policies — policies that were viewed favourably by established players like J.R.D. Tata and newer entrants like Dhirubhai Ambani. In so doing, she put the Indian economy on the long road towards liberalisation. The tenure of the Janata Party was a vital phase of the long 1970s. How much was Indira Gandhi a defining factor in the manner and pace at which the regime unravelled? The Janata government was united in its desire to fix Indira Gandhi after 1977, but divided on how best to proceed. This led to some spectacular own-goals such as the abortive move to arrest her in 1978. Indira Gandhi, for her part, proved more astute in playing on the faultlines within the Janata Party and on the thrusting ambition of some of its leaders. In particular, her move to support Charan Singh's bid for premiership ensured that the Janata Party was broken beyond repair or rapprochement. How important were these years out of power, 1977-1980, in her own eventual evolution? These were undoubtedly the most challenging years of her political life. Yet, her ability to retain a grip on a section of the Congress party, to revive her popular fortunes by dramatic moves (such as in support of the Dalits after the massacre in Belchi), and to bounce back by winning the 1978 by-election in Chikmagalur — all showcased her political instincts and tenacity. At the same time, these years also led her further down the path of personalising power in the party (which she split for a second time) and of relying on her younger son, Sanjay Gandhi, who was clearly the dynastic heir apparent. You conclude that while the Janata government had successfully rolled back the Emergency, it did not reconfigure the coordinates of parliamentary democracy put in place on Mrs. Gandhi's watch. Yet, did its record inform the coalition governments to come in later years, of the 'third front', BJP, and the Congress? The Janata government certainly foreshadowed the era of coalition politics that began in the late 1980s. While several of the main protagonists of this period were active in 1977-79, it is not clear they had learned much from that bitter experience. Rather, the record of some of the later coalition governments bore out the dictum that the only thing we learn from history is how to make new mistakes! You choose not to speculate about the reasons for her announcement of elections in 1977. But did this announcement embed in the Indian political system the centrality of elections? The outcome of the 1977 elections demonstrated that even the most powerful political leader could be unseated and humbled. Coming in the wake of the Emergency, when institutional checks and balances had manifestly failed to uphold democracy, elections were now regarded as central to Indian democracy. A decade ago you had published a profile of Indira Gandhi - from then to now, has your assessment of the arc of her prime ministerial career altered? My assessments have changed in a couple of ways. The availability of newly declassified archival materials, including from the Prime Minister's Secretariat, has enabled me to understand better the ideas and impulses that lay behind many of the choices and decisions made by Indira Gandhi and her contemporaries. This is true even of such well known episodes as the nationalisation of banks. At the same time, I have developed a deeper appreciation of the gulf between intentions and outcomes, and how the latter were decisively shaped by the wider, including the global, currents of the long 1970s. At the outset of her premiership, for instance, Indira Gandhi wanted to restore the economy to the track of planned economic development (on the Nehruvian model). But the economic imperatives and crises of the period effectively led to rather a different model of political economy — one that combined targeted anti-poverty programmes with a liberalising, pro-business outlook. This framework has proved durable and continues to shape Indian political economy today. The interviewer is a Delhi-based editor and journalist. Indira Gandhi and the Years That Transformed India Srinath Raghavan Allen Lane ₹899
Time of India
43 minutes ago
- Time of India
Voting underway in assembly bypolls in four states, moderate turnout recorded till noon
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Punjab saw a voter turnout of 21.51 percent till 11 am in the polling for the Ludhiana West Assembly bypoll. The Ludhiana West Assembly seat fell vacant following the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January. AAP candidate Sanjeev Arora reached a polling station along with his family members to exercise his franchise. Before casting votes, Arora paid obeisance at a gurdwara, a temple and the Dargah Pir in Phillaur. Speaking to reporters, Arora appealed to the people to come out in large numbers to cast their votes. "Please come out to vote and have maximum voting today," he said. Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu, BJP nominee Jiwan Gupta and SAD's Parupkar Singh Ghuman also cast their votes. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann appealed to voters to cast their votes in the bypoll. "My appeal to the voters of Ludhiana West is that you must exercise your right to vote. You must fulfil your duty for the development and progress of your area. 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Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Like a lover to an ex: VD Satheesan hits out at CPM's BJP ‘outreach', calls it 'romantic reminder' of Left's past alliances
V D Satheesan attacked M V Govindan's statement. He reminded everyone of CPM's past ties with RSS and BJP. Satheesan mentioned CPM's alliance with Jan Sangh in 1967. He highlighted a photo of EMS Namboodiripad with BJP leaders. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition leader V D Satheesan on Wednesday mocked CPM state secretary M V Govindan's statement, calling it a "romantic reminder" of the Left's past alliances with RSS and BJP . He said CPM hasn't just partnered with Janata Party in the past, but it has also cozied up to Jan Sangh and BJP. Satheesan said while CPM claims it only collaborated during the Emergency and with Janata Party, it allied with Jan Sangh in 1967. Former general secretary P Sundarayya even resigned in 1975 warning against RSS ties, though his letter emerged posthumously. BJP was formed in 1980 and there is a 1989 photo showing EMS Namboodiripad and Jyoti Basu alongside AB Vajpayee, LK Advani, and VP Singh. CPM even cited a CAG report by Hindutva supporter TN Chaturvedi to justify ties-ironic, given how it now dismisses CAG findings in Kerala, Satheesan said. He said CPM ideologue Mohit Sen warned in 1989 that aligning with communal forces would doom the Left. "They'll clasp hands with any devil to defeat Congress," Satheesan said, adding that CM Pinarayi Vijayan himself admitted to securing RSS votes. He mocked CPM's vote-seeking tactics ahead of the Nilambur bypoll, comparing them to a "lover pleading to an ex." "During LS polls, it was minority appeasement; now it's majority appeasement," he said, alleging that CPM's PR machinery has been pushing Sangh-style narratives in Malappuram. Even Gadkari's road failures draw no criticism. Satheesan criticized Vijayan's silence on "RSS influence" in the Raj Bhavan and called his meeting with Nirmala Sitharaman-where no state finances were discussed-just a "puttu and kadala" chat. "With CPM, everyone's secular; with us, they turn communal," he quipped, noting how Welfare Party's past UDF support is ignored while CPM stokes Islamophobia. KPCC president Sunny Joseph said Govindan had "inadvertently spoken the truth" CPM long hid.
