In an interview with a leading Malayalam online portal, Dalit activist and academician Sunny M Kappikad said that it is not proper of the LDF government or Pinarayi Vijayan to believe that the food kits are some kind of generosity for the people. He added that it is the right of the people, and the government is bound to deliver on those rights.
“The government asked the people to stay inside their houses during the Covid pandemic and thus the government also has to bring necessary items to the people. The Pinarayi government did what governments are supposed to do, and they did it well with the help of the systems in place. However, the problem here is the narrative that these kits were some kind of LDF generosity,” Kappikad said, adding that the food kits are the rights of the people.
Sunny Kappikad had recently attracted undue attention to his claim for the change in governance. He noted that it was not desirable for the repetition in government or leadership in a democracy. People alleged that he had been campaigning for the UDF, and some went so far as to claim that he was vouching for the BJP. However, he explained that those who subscribe to party politics and those who believe in the electoral right-or-left narrative twisted his argument to fit the narrative. “Democracy isn’t limited to the governance aspect as it also pertains to the various socio-cultural elements of our society. A democratic society must include everyone, be open to everyone, and be accepting of everyone’s opinions and opinion differences. I opined that a repeat in the alliance or the leader is not desirable for such a democratic society,” he added.
He cited the examples of the various continuances in governance and the problems that ensued. “Congress ruled the country continuously until 1977, but they were unable to reach the lower strata of people and couldn’t solve poverty despite 27 years of governance. The left parties ruled West Bengal for 34 years, but following the Nandigram issue, the left party members joined Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress en masse. Continued governance doesn’t often mean good governance, it could sometimes indicate that the people were forced into silence,” Kappikad added. “Moreover, I wasn’t claiming that parties have no right to ask people to vote them back to power. I was merely referring to the responsibilities of the people to vote carefully.” He added that by asking to come back to power again, voters are often forced to vote for the least qualified candidates.
