Controversies, scandals hit LDF Govt in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 27: The Golden Jubilee year of Kerala formation saw the Left parties sweeping the Assembly polls, even as an unprecedented infighting within the CPI(M) and a host of controversies and scandals hit the headlines in 2006.

It is the same state where almost half-a-century ago the world's first elected Communist Government headed by Mr E M S Namboodiripad came to power.

Till a year ago, it was the factional feud in the Congress that had dominated the state's politics. Now, the infighting between rival groups loyal to Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan is causing embarrassment to the seven-month-old Government.

Adding fodder to the fire is the controversial SNC Lavalin deal relating to the awarding of contract for the renovation of hydel projects to the Canadian company when Mr Vijayan was the State Electricity Minister during a previous term, loan from the Asian Development Bank, seizure of pirated CDs, sex scandals and many more.

Resignation of Public Works Minister and Kerala Congress leader P J Joseph from the Cabinet following a sexual harassment case, security fiasco during the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Kannada actress Jaimala's claim of touching the idol at the Sabarimala temple where entry of women in the age group of 10-50 is barred, cricketer Sreeshant's match winning performance in South Africa and Justice K G Balakrishnan's appointment as the next Chief Justice of India were the major headlines.

Stars once again failed to shine for veteran leader K Karunakaran even after the merger of his Democratic Indira Congress(K) with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of Mr Sharad Pawar. The merger led to the expulsion of the NCP from the LDF, facing a real dilemma of finding a breathing space in the highly polarised political scenario centring around the LDF and the Congress-led United Democratic Front.

It was the second time unlucky for Mr Karunakaran and his son K Muraleedharan who were denied entry into the LDF during the Assembly elections, forcing them to join hands with the Congress. The debacle of the UDF saw Mr Karunakaran once again quitting the UDF and later merging his party with the NCP.

Kerala's money spinner Tourism sector and its much acclaimed public health delivery system suffered a major dent when chikungunya hit the water-logged Alappuzha and other districts. Many deaths were reported during the outbreak, leading to the cancellation of tour programmes by several foreigners.

The Achuthanandan Government in August banned Coca Cola and Pepsi, a decision hailed by environmental groups. But it drew flak from pro-reform lobbies who argued that it will affect state's efforts to woo investors.

Like in the case of previous years, uncertainty in the admission and fee structure of self-financing professional colleges caused many a hardship to students. The LDF Government brought in a legislation to check private managements from charging exorbitant amount for admission as capitation and tuition fee. However, college managements challenged the law in the court.

The enactment of the legislation also saw a tug of war between the Christian Churches and the Government with the former alleging that the law violates the minority rights.

Noted poet and academic Dr Ayyappa Panikkar, actors Padmini and Sree Vidya and musician G Devarajan were among those who died in the year 2006.

UNI