Corporates aren’t class enemies for comrades now

Many key development projects in Kerala, stymied for long mainly on account of protests by local residents that are more often than not spurred by activists, have been getting back on track of late. Consider what is playing out in various corners of Kerala these days, apart from the chief minister himself converting political discourses into economic narratives. The construction of the Indian Oil Corporation’s LPG storage terminal at Puthuvype near Kochi will soon restart after stakeholders and the island dwellers managed  to get on the same page after a two-year standoff that delayed the setting up of the `490-crore facility.

Even more stunning is the latest twist to the well-chronicled resistance against the construction of a National Highway passing through Keezhattoor in Kannur district. All but three protesters have surrendered their land. On Tuesday, Kerala Industries Minister E P Jayarajan ruled out any ban on mining in Alappad, Kollam, where local protesters went on a rampage last year. The message is clear: The state government will not buckle under pressure from activists. 

Another scenario is also playing out in Kerala, a scene which would have been scoffed at by Keralites a few years ago. The LDF government is openly welcoming MNCs and the private sector to invest in the state. It has been only a couple of days since Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac during his Budget speech referred to a host of fresh investments by Japan’s Nissan, Tores Investment, H&R Block and Tech Mahindra. This is quite a turnaround from the early 1990s.

No one could have forgotten that period when corporate houses were class enemies to the comrades. Then they simply could not stop seeing red over the Narasimha Rao government at the Centre ushering in an era of economic liberalisation. Surely, what is needed is for all political parties to be steadfast in their resolve to support development, whether they are in the government or in the opposition.