The CPI was the first to express its dissent over the Cliff House siege. The party secretariat felt the time had come to change the mode of protest as there was no point in blocking the road in the name of blocking the CM’s residence. The blockade has put the people to great inconvenience, the party said.

Taking a cue from the CPI, the RSP has also stressed the need to change the mode of protest. RSP general secretary T J Chandrachudan felt the LDF must move in step with the times as any agitation that inconveniences the public will not succeed.

But the CPI(M) seems to be in no mood to listen to the sage advice of the CPI and the RSP. That much is clear from the party’s decision to organize a ‘special protest’ with women volunteers of the LDF forming the front of the blockade of the CM’s residence. It is learnt that CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan himself will inaugurate the ‘special protest.

Both the CPI and the RSP have a valid point. The ‘returns’ from the blockade of the CM’s residence movement have been diminishing sharply, with attendance thinning by the day. The tide is turning against the LDF, with the people expressing their resentment against the inconvenience caused by the front’s blockade.

The 140-day blockade is in protest against the CM’s refusal to step down and face a probe by a sitting judge into the infamous solar scam in which the CM and his office are in the eye of the storm. The Chief Minister’s announcement of a judicial probe by a retired judge has been rejected by the LDF.

The futility of the outmoded protest form was sharply brought home by an angry aam aurat(housewife) who single-handedly took on the protesting LDF leaders. The woman, Sandhya, subjected the LDF leaders, including Thiruvanathapuram CPI(M) secretary Kadakampally Surendran and former minister V. Surendran Pillai to a severe tongue-lashing for making life miserable for the residents of the nearby areas. The woman’s patience snapped when she found that the passage to her residence was blocked while she was returning home after dropping her children at school.

For once, the voluble LDF leaders were rendered speechless by the vehemence of Sandhya’s protest. She not only questioned the relevance of their protest but exploded when the leaders said the protest was in support of the people. The gist of her criticism was that it was not only not in favour of the people but positively creating nuisance for them. The time had come for the protesting parties to shift to other modes of protest which caused no problems for the common man, she added. Later, she said her protest was not against the LDF. All that she did was to voice the anger and resentment felt by the people of the locality affected by the blockade.

The LDF leaders, who were clearly thrown off balance by the aam aurat anger, blamed it all on the police, who, they alleged, were deliberately putting up barricades preventing the smooth movement of the public.

Sandhya’s protest had the desired effect as, emboldened by her bold initiative, three residents associations in the neighbourhood successfully forced the police to ensure a passage for the people. Impressed by Sandhya’s courage a prominent businessman announced a cash award of Rs five lakh for her, inviting sharp criticism by the LDF leaders.

But what is worrying is the refusal of the CPI(M) leaders to indulge in self-introspection and learn appropriate lessons from the unfortunate episode. Instead of taking the Sandhya’s protest in the right spirit, some CPI(M) leaders accused her of being a Congress agent. Even more shocking was the destruction of plantations owned by the courageous housewife.

It is against this backdrop that the CPI and the RSP have urged the CPI(M) to mend the ‘people-hostile protest ways. But the CPI(M)’s initial response to the wiser counsels of its coalition partners has been, to say the least, disappointing. The party and its leaders must realize, sooner than later, that no agitation, which causes inconvenience to the people would succeed in the long run. The anti-CM blockade has clearly outlived its utility. It must think up a other less troublesome protest mode. The earlier the CPI(M) digests this reality, the better for it. (IPA)