HC verdict, a blow to UDF

By Girish Menon

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MARCH 3. The Kerala High Court verdict upholding the one-year sentence to the Kerala Congress(B) leader, Mr R Balakrishna Pillai, in the Graphite case has come at the most inopportune time for the UDF.

There is nothing new in the corruption cases against Mr Pillai. Only the verdict was awaited even as it kept shuttling between the lowest to the apex court. In the meantime, Mr Pillai won a favourable verdict from the people's court, as he terms it, even when the proceedings were going through its torturous course in the courts. Mr Pillai draws a lot of consolation by frequently quoting from his people's verdict, a fact which he did not forget to mention soon after the High Court verdict came.

Perhaps Mr Pillai would be able to contest the election despite the verdict. But the fact remains that it would put the UDF in a difficult situation, especially when it goes into elections making corruption as one of its major planks. Though the Opposition coalition had succeeded in creating a cloud of suspicion regarding ministerial affairs in the LDF Cabinet, it has not been able to bring out a single clinching evidence against any Minister. The LDF, on the other hand, would counter the UDF fusillade by pointing out to the Pillai verdict. It is a different matter that the one politician who relentlessly pursued Mr Pillai in the courts, Mr V S Achuthanandan, is ironically in the spotlight, that too for the dubious role his son, Mr Arun Kumar, is alleged to have played in the Kannur Power Project deal.

Legal opinion has it that there would be no bar on Mr Pillai contesting the elections, as his sentence is just one year. But the Kerala Congress(B) leader is likely to be haunted by the prospects of a harsher sentence in the Edamalayar case if the High Court rejects his appeal. In fact, Mr Pillai is facing one of the worst challenges in his political career.

He was the youngest legislator on his debut more than 25 years ago. Ever since he quit the Congress to join in the formation of forming the Kerala Congress, Mr Pillai had made controversy his second name. His voyage in and out of various Kerala Congress parties during the 1970s and 1980s hardly affected his electoral results from Kottarakkara. Even the controversial "Punjab model" speech, way back in 1986, did not put Mr Pillai on the chopping block as many thought it would.

In 1989, Mr Pillai finally split from the Kerala Congress(J) and decided to keep a party of his own, for which he had to face the mortification of being disqualified from the Assembly under the Anti-defection law. Even that did not rewrite his electoral record in the 1991 elections. Mr Pillai won from his favourite constituency and returned as Minister.

As Transport Minister, Mr Pillai locked horns with the KSRTC unions, especially the CITU. He brought in some crucial reforms, which led to prolonged and rather violent agitations by the Left unions. With hindsight, it appears that some of the controversial and contentious decisions he took as Transport Minister was right. But his method of implementing his decisions is still disputed. But then, that was Balakrishna Pillai, a die hard anti- Marxist.

It is Mr Pillai's ill-luck that the High Court should have pronounced its verdict, on the eve of an election, that too on a Friday, giving him little time to move the higher court to prevent the lock-up till he got a reprieve. The court cases and verdicts notwithstanding, Mr Pillai is getting ready to prove that he still has not lost his fighting qualities. If there is no bar on his contest, he would surely be in the fray from Kottarakara. As if to assert his presence, he is likely to induct his actor-son, Mr. Ganeshan, into the contest.

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Section  : Southern States
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