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IUML in cleft as Left ignores its overtures in Kerala

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

The noose has started to tighten around Indian Union Muslim League leader P K Kunhalikutty's neck, with the E K Nayanar government in Kerala giving the green signal to proceed against him in a case wherein he allegedly allowed a private company to construct an 18-storied building in the heart of Kozhikode city, violating Kerala building rules.

Much to the chagrin of Kunhalikutty and his colleagues, a chargesheet was filed before the Vigilance Tribunal at Kozhikode on Tuesday by Deputy Superintendent of Police Ramesan. The charge against him is that as minister in charge of industry and town planning under the previous United Democratic Front, he permitted the Western India Construction to build the tallest building in the city in violation of norms.

Though a private complaint against the construction was made by one Chandradas much earlier, the Kasba police took cognisance of the case only after the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist made it clear that it had no links with the Muslim League during its Calcutta congress.

The Housing and Urban Development Corporation also blessed the venture with a massive Rs 125 million loan. Sources pointed out that the HUDCO was giving such a large amount to a private company for the first time.

The construction was allowed to take place on a 91-cent plot. The KBR prescribes at least three acres of land for building a structure of that size.

Kunhalikutty had also allegedly given the company exemption from many basic requirements that are mandatory for a multi-storied building.

The case against Kunhalikutty assumes importance, since the government had ignored several other cases of more serious nature against him.

Earlier, the government had apparently fettered all its agencies from taking an aggressive stand as the IUML had helped it. The government had been able to withstand the Payyavur agitation as the Muslim League, which is a force to reckon in the northern belt, kept off the agitation.

A women's organisation called Anweshi, headed by former Naxalite Ajitha, had 'exposed' Kunhalikutty's alleged role in the Kozhikode sex scandal. The chief minister had refused to subject his involvement to a proper investigation, saying there was no substance in the allegation.

The Assembly Committee for Welfare of Women and Children, which probed the matter, had allegedly refused to publish its report even though it reportedly got clinching evidence against Kunhalikutty.

The IUML was apparently hoping for an entry into the Left Democratic Front after the CPI-M's Calcutta congress. The party had even considered a suggestion to change its name to suit the Communist demand for proving its secular credentials.

Kunhalikutty was among those leaders who wanted to make the party to look more secular, not only in nomenclature but also in its content, to find its way into the LDF. He had even tried for a truck with Mulayam Singh Yadav to achieve this end.

However, V S Achutanandan, who holds sway over the CPI-M affairs in Kerala, refused to have any link with the IUML, saying it was a communal organisation. He even termed it a blunder the party's decision to associate with the Muslim League in the 1970s. Achutanandan's position is that the Left parties cannot fight majority communalism by joining hands with minority communalism, represented by parties like the IUML.

This stand completely shattered the IUML, which has now reaffirmed its commitment to stay behind the Congress firmly.

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