Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan recently criticised CM Pinarayi Vijayan for his overseas visit to Cuba. The Governor referred to Pinarayi’s trip to Cuba as a ‘political pilgrimage.’ Criticising a news report that Pinarayi Vijayan met with Cuban officials about a partnership in the health sector, the Governor stated that the CM is discussing health with a country known for its tobacco industry. Arif Mohammad Khan stated that the chief minister was squandering public funds in this manner. Following his trip to the USA, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan paid a visit for two days to Cuba. Coincidence or not, both Cuba and Kerala are becoming passengers of the same boat. Cuba’s development is stifled due to generations of communist rule and Kerala is going through 2nd term of the ‘Left-Pinarayi’ government and Kerala’s development is being stifled by bad policy measures and price rises. In light of this, let us examine why Pinarayi’s visit to Cuba is a ridiculous waste of public money and why it is riddled with Left hypocrisy.
A Visit To Showcase Left Hypocrisy
The Communist Party of India is well-known for its support of China and Cuba. It is worth noting that the Kerala Chief minister earlier hailed Cuba for its socialistic ideas and its opposition to the US. Previously, the Kerala Chief Minister lauded North Korea for its staunch opposition to the United States. It is also worth noting that during the Doklam standoff, Kerala’s Chief Minister slammed India, claiming that “our country has now taken a pro-America stance, and our foreign policy is shaped accordingly. India has developed a foreign strategy that is consistent with US foreign policy and is completely opposed to China.” At least the Left is not colour-blind in this development as we can see clearly how much the Kerala CM loves his brotherly Red-Communist dictatorships.
Cuba’s socialist regime has had a significant role in the country’s misery. The regime’s mishandling of the economy and repressive practises have exacerbated the country’s issues. The same is true of North Korea, a renegade Leftist state that ruthlessly subjugates its own people. China, on the other hand, may have a large economy, but the authoritarian government of the Party has deprived its population of all chances of democracy or liberty. The Left-Pinarayi government’s affection for Cuba is thus unsurprising, given that Kerala’s elected ruler has comparable preferences to other ruthless communist governments.
In fact, the Pinarayi government is slowly and surely morphing into a communist dictatorship. To understand this, we must first understand how Pinarayi has tightened the grip of power in Kerala. When Pinarayi Vijayan came to power the second time, He had stated that no ministers from the previous cabinet will find a berth in the second-term cabinet. And who was the only exception? Of course, the CM himself! In his quest for power, he even evicted acclaimed health minister KK Shailaja from the post she had handled successfully. Instead, the Kerala people got cronies of Pinarayi as their ministers including his own son-in-law.
In his 2nd term, Pinarayi has also started to stifle criticism and free press much like his communist counterparts in Cuba, China, and North Korea. According to reports, the Kerala government is even considering changing the rules of conduct of government employees in order to sanction staff who attack the administration online. The Pinarayi government’s intolerant attitude is on display for the public to witness; it is claimed that Pinarayi Vijayan is entitled to be referred to as “Mao of the South” owing to the intolerant administration and usage of police apparatus. Instead of holding press conferences after Cabinet meetings, Vijayan stopped dealing with media outlets and started issuing press releases in 2016. In 2017, as the media arrived to cover a “meeting” at a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram, the chief minister screamed, “kadakku purath” (Get out!). The Chief Minister’s amendment to the Kerala Police Act in 2020, which sought to protect women from cyberattacks, was perceived as an effort to restrict media freedom. It sought to adopt a new provision criminalising defamatory material, but it was dropped in response to opposition and public uproar. These events are in addition to earlier limitations on the press covering assembly processes. The incident clearly reveals that Kerala’s chief minister has regularly used Maoist techniques in dealing with the media. The Vijayan administration is not receiving good press coverage; two high-profile accusations involving the CM’s personal secretaries are making the rounds in journalistic circles, eroding the governing Left’s trust. The CM has struck out at the media in desperation; disagreement is the foundation of a society that is democratic, therefore the CM, as a legitimately elected leader, must welcome it. Pinarayi Vijayan has yet again demonstrated that he is a real Communist by enabling his thugs to seize the media by the neck!
Wastage Of Public Money
Pinarayi Vijayan has conducted 19 international visits since taking office as Chief Minister and will continue to do so till 2023. However, only details on five of them are known. According to reports, he spent ₹32.58 lakh on official travels to the UAE in 2016, the United States in 2018, Japan in 2019, and the United States again in 2022 for medical treatment. The cost of the remaining 14 trips has not yet been disclosed. Over the past 6.5 years of LDF rule, the Chief Minister and Ministers of Kerala have undertaken 85 international travels. It is not his professional travels that have raised eyebrows, but rather his personal visits and covering the tab in public. A writ petition is currently underway in the High Court, which has brought these journeys under scrutiny. In his writ case, the petitioner claimed that Vijayan had taken ‘personal’ visits to the United States and the United Arab Emirates at separate times. The CM’s excursions had also drawn criticism since his family members accompanied him, using public cash. Pinarayi travelled to various European nations with his wife, daughter, and grandchild last year. There were also accusations about going on a foreign vacation during the state’s severe financial crisis. However, Pinarayi Vijayan’s foreign travel fiasco is simply the tip of the iceberg in terms of public money waste by the CM and his entourage. The government purchased a dozen new automobiles for the CM and other ministers last year. Despite a general restriction on the purchase of new automobiles due to the financial crisis, the exchequer has already spent 4 crores on these purchases. CM ranks first in the acquisition of new autos. The public is harmed not just by the purchases, but also by the increased security. It is unclear why the CM is so afraid of the people that he increased his security. The increased protection is equivalent to that provided by India to visiting heads of state. Kerala is in a desperate financial predicament. Kerala’s government debt has risen to about 4,000 crores, and the little state has eclipsed the majority of Indian states in this regard. Kerala’s current budget also highlights the state’s poor and perilous financial status. The substantial increase in taxes, particularly those on fuel, diesel, and alcoholic beverages, has hit the average man where he hurts the most. Kerala and its reigning communist regime appear to be right out of a black mirror episode. In an Orwellian fashion, the government operates an ‘animal farm,’ gorging on the ordinary man’s resources. Kerala has dismal days ahead owing to its perilous financial status, and the CM’s spending binge in the middle of this only testifies to an immoral type of administration that is destructive to society.
As it approaches the second year of its five-year term, the present government looks to be stuck in a never-ending loop of issues. From a conflict with the governor’s office to the appointment of party leaders to cabinet positions, the left administration has courted controversy. Although viewed as an outstanding model of human development and education, Kerala is hampered by comprehensive misgovernance and ignorance of critical issues. Even when espousing pluralism as well as free speech, the communist regime publicly introduces laws or circulars to stifle free expression, and even when they talk about growth and jobs, Kerala remains one of the country’s worst states in terms of employment and development. Because of its abundant natural resources, Kerala is a top achiever in education and human development. However, the state’s prospects are damaged by the ruling party’s ongoing disrespect for standards and misplaced priorities. As a result, the state’s financial situation is likewise bad. But the ruling class continues to ignore reality and pour money into its coffers. For instance, during the fiscal year 2019-20, the government allocated ₹34.79 crores towards remunerations and travel expenditures for personal staff members of ministers. Pensions and gratuity for retiring employees cost a total of ₹7.13 crores. Spending on ministers’ personal staff wages and travel expenditures grew by 25.30% in six years, compared to 2013-14. The CM’s personal staffers’ salaries and perks jumped by a whopping 190.61%. Pension expenses have more than doubled, going from ₹3.53 billion in 2013-14 to ₹7.13 billion in 2019-20. This load is likely to expand considerably in the coming years due to long-term life expectancy and periodic wage and pension modifications. The unexpected spike in these expenses comes against the backdrop of the state’s dismal financial situation and mounting debt. The sustainable debt level is predicted to be 23% of GSDP per Kerala’s Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2011. Kerala spent 75.6% of borrowed cash on revenue spending and 20.13% on debt repayment in 2019-20. Only 3.85% of the loaned cash was used on capital projects. According to Crisil’s 2019 States of Growth report, Kerala, along with Punjab and Rajasthan, was classified as a “state characterized by a significantly high debt ratio.”These were the only states with debt-to-GDP ratios over 30%.
How the Pinarayi government governs the state raises the issue of whether Mr. Pinarayi intends to turn Kerala into a real communist state in the mould of Cuba or North Korea. The communist Kerala model, riddled with corruption and intolerance, is dragging the state to the edge of economic and social stagnation. When the next election rolls around, citizens must understand that each vote opposing the Vijayan administration is a vote for democracy.
(Anand Krishna is a lawyer from Kerala and a columnist)
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