Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would do well to axe tainted Minister Saseendran from his Cabinet

When the CPI(M) appointed Pinarayi Vijayan, then hardly 53, as the secretary of the Kerala unit of the party in 1998, Marxist strongman VS Achuthanandan was asked why a relatively young man had been elevated to the top post. “This is a long-term investment being made by the party, taking into account the future,” was the reply given by VS in his characteristic style. The long-term investment has not let down the party seniors as he navigated the CPI(M) through the turbulent politics of the State, known for its strong undercurrents. The re-election of the LDF Government for another five-year term in the April 6 Assembly election says a lot about the capabilities and qualities of Vijayan, who broke the more than four-decade-old jinx that the ruling party in the State never returns to power. The 2021 Assembly election was a Pinarayi Vijayan show and the electorate in the State offered Kerala on a platter to their leader. While all his predecessors, including late K Karunakaran, AK Antony and Oommen Chandy, had to tread carefully in the political field of the State laden with “mines and booby traps” because of the alliance culture, Vijayan is free from all such bondages.

The CPI(M) and its poor cousin, the CPI, have enough numbers to rule the State and they are not at the mercy of any fringe parties. This means that the Chief Minister has enough power to clip the wings of any member in the ruling front who dares to violate the coalition dharma. However, Vijayan’s second tenure commenced on a not-so-auspicious note because of the spurt in attacks on women, dowry deaths and corruption allegations. This week began on a stormy note as Forest Minister AK Saseendran allegedly misused his official powers to mediate in a sexual abuse case. Saseendran is no stranger to such controversies because his name had figured in the audio clip released by a news channel during Vijayan’s previous regime. The Minister, a member of the NCP, was heard asking a female friend for sexual favours and the CPI(M) dumped him altogether. Though he was reinstated after the case was hushed up, the incident remains a blot on the LDF Government. Taking into account the ever-increasing number of sexual abuse cases, the Chief Minister should set up a benchmark and, for that to materialise, Saseendran should be ousted from the Council of Ministers.