The hasty decision has been the appointment of Kerala Congress(B) chief R Balakrishna Pillai as the chairman of the Forward Classes Development Corporation.

The decision could cost the LDF dear as the front came to power with a promise to eradicate corruption. Fight against corruption was the top priority item in the LDF’s manifesto as well.

It may be mentioned that Balakrishna Pillai had been convicted in the infamous Edamalayar case and jailed following a Supreme Court verdict.

Ironically, the man who got Pillai a jail sentence after fighting a 20-year battle, V S Achuthanandan, and Pillai now find themselves on the same side of the political fence. And both enjoy cabinet rank posts. VS is the chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission. It is an open secret that VS is not happy with the decision to give Pillai the post although he has not aired his displeasure publically.

The CPI(M) has defended the appointment on the ground that imprisonment which Pillai underwent is an old issue; and that Pillai has since fought – and won – an election! Also, he is now with the LDF though his party has not been made an ally of the LDF – a demand made by Pillai.

Not surprisingly, the opposition UDF and the BJP have criticized the government’s decision. Their charge is — the CPI(M) had vehemently opposed when the UDF gave Pillai the same post. How can the party justify it now? Is it the contention of the CPI(M) that Pillai has become a saint now that he is with the LDF?

It must also be noted that the CPI(M) particular and other allies of the party in the LDF in general, are finding it difficult to defend the decision.

What is surprising is that even the CPI is justifying the awarding of a post to Pillai. The party must realize that the ill-thought-out decision has exposed the LDF to the charge of political opportunism of the highest order. And no amount of verbal jugglery can whitewash the ‘crime’.

What makes the LDF decision all the more intriguing is that there were no political compulsions which forced the front to accommodate Pillai’s wish for a post. It is not as if the LDF is critically dependent on the support of KCB), which boasts only one MLA, for survival in power. Nor is the party a member of the LDF. The decision will hurt the sensibilities of other parties like the Indian National League(INL) which have been waiting for admission into the LDF for years.

Last but not the least, the decision cannot but weaken the LDF’s proclaimed policy of a relentless battle against political corruption. That the decision has not gone down well with the CPI(M)’s rank and file is also an open secret.

If the CPI(M) really wanted to accommodate the KC(B), it could have well given the Forward Classes Development Corporation chairman’s post to Pillai’s son, K B Ganesh Kumar, the sole KC(B) MLA in the state assembly. Ganesh has a proven record as a minister; moreover, he has not been tainted by the charge of corruption. The LDF could have spared itself embarrassment if it had done so.

It is still not too late. The LDF must swiftly wipe the stain on its credibility and reputation. It must replace Pillai with Ganesh Kumar without further loss of time. It will be felling two mangoes with one stone that way. The KC(B) will be mollified if Ganesh is given a post. And by removing Pillai from the post, the LDF will also undo the enormous political damage the post-for-Pillai decision has inflicted on the Front. The CPI(M) has shown the courage to take corrective measures on other issues in the past. It must summon the requisite nerve to do that in the Pillai issue too. That will take the wind out of the Opposition’s sail besides helping the LDF to regain the moral high ground. (IPA Service)