The class war, proletariat famed communist party has now openly adopted nepotism and dynasty politics in Kerala. Pinarayi Vijayan in his new cabinet has sacked many veterans including the much famous and touted ‘great’ health minister KK Shailaja and controversially brought in his own son-in-law, Mohammed Riyas and the Kerala CPI(M) Party State Secretary A Vijayaraghavan’s wife R Bindu as Cabinet Ministers.

For the communist party, it is first time in history that a Chief Minister’s son-in-law and party Secretary’s wife are being appointed as Cabinet Ministers. Both Riyas and Bindu are first time MLAs, Riyas tried to unsuccessfully contest in 2019 Lok Sabha elections earlier. Riyas is also the head of CPI(M)’s youth wing DYFI’s national President. While Vijayaraghavan’s wife Bindu is a college teacher and was a Mayor of Thrissur Corporation from 2005-2010.

Pinarayi’s son-in-law Riyas is charged for criminal violence in a 2009 case and out on bail. Riyas is also infamous for leading beef cooking parties and protests when the centre brought in a regulation ton purchase and sale of cattle.

Riyas married Pinarayi’s daughter Veena last year. Riyas married Veena after recently divorcing his first wife, Veena is also a divorcee and has a child from her first marriage.

Appointment of Riyas and Bindu has raised an outrage in social media and within the party itself. The central party leadership is sidelined and a mute spectator as all fundings for the party come from Kerala. Earlier the West Bengal party leadership of CPI(M) used to call the shots in the party, but now having not won even a single seat they are relegated as non-entities. The party head, Sitaram Yechury has no say on the state of affairs in Kerala and is not even consulted by Pinarayi Vijayan.

The Maoist friendly. CPI(ML) Polit Bureau member, Kavita Krishnan questioned the move of removing Shailaja asked, “Why would you change an ‘able’ Health Minister in the middle of a pandemic?”

CPI(ML) general secretary, Dipankar Bhattacharya took a dig at Pinarayi Vijayan and tweeted, “Old CM, New Cabinet! What’s really happening? We read in People’s Democracy about the ‘collective’ element in LDF’s rare successive Kerala win, did we miss something?”

Annie Raja, D Raja’s wife and leader of CPI also criticised the move of sacking Shailaja and not increasing the number of women ministers in the Cabinet. She pointed out this time also the total number of women ministers are just two as last time.

The communist parties who talk about highfalutin principles of giving political right to the proletariat or the common masses, are proving that in practice whenever communists gain power they have become autocrats with dynastic rule. So the cadre based CPI(M) party has now become dynastic and all its sermons about being a party of the masses sounds hollow and is hogwash.

News input: The Hindu, PGurus and Opindia

Image source: Twitter

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