‘Ramesh Chennithala does his job well as Oppn Leader’: An intv with Oommen Chandy

At 76, Oommen Chandy still remains the biggest crowd puller for the Congress in Kerala. A two-time Chief Minister and a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), he will be completing 50 years as legislator of the state Assembly on September 17. He has been elected to the Puthuppally Assembly constituency in Kottayam district since 1970. 

In an interview to TNM, Oommen Chandy says Rahul Gandhi should be back to lead the Congress, the party gave him more than he deserves and that he is ever committed to Puthuppally. 

The Assembly Elections are eight months away in Kerala. What do you make of the United Democratic Front (UDF- headed by the Congress)’s chances to return to power?

In the 2016 elections, the victory of the LDF was the result of a false propaganda and the UDF failed in checking that. The propaganda was that there was deep-rooted corruption. They raised the bar scam (that the bar owners bribed then Finance Minister KM Mani to reopen the bars in the state). But KM Mani has come out hundred percent clean in it. A vigilance report had come during the tenure of the UDF itself and the LDF did a fresh probe after they came to power. There were no findings against him in that too. The LDF should apologize to people for baseless allegations. And also regarding the allegations related to Saritha S Nair, (key accused in the solar scam) the LDF could  prove nothing. 

They even brought eight adjournment motions in a single session of the Assembly on the same issue. When a judicial probe was on, they couldn't submit even a single piece of evidence to prove their allegations. 

If the UDF were to come to power, who would be the Chief Minister?

The decision would be taken by the High Command and there won't be any dispute over that. The decision of the High Command will be final. If the question was aimed at me as well, the party has given enough opportunities to me and I have received more love than I deserve from the people and I am fully content with that. 

If that is the case, would you not be a contender for the CM post? Would you tell the High Command not to consider you?

It's all up to the High Command and I would adhere to the decision, whatever is.

What do you think of Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala as a contender for the CM post?

He has done his job well as a President of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and doing the same as an Opposition Leader. The issues he brought to the fore against the government have all proved to be true finally though the government and the Chief Minister denied, tried to demean them.

           Oomen Chandy with Ramesh Chennithala, Mullappally Ramachandran and K Muraleedharan

In national politics, is it possible for the Congress to make a comeback?

Yes it's beyond doubt. Only with the return of the Congress can the country move forward in its real spirit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has implemented a slew of things, but was there a single one that was useful for the nation? Demonetisation has crushed small-scale traders and killed thousands and lakhs of job opportunities.

Also when GST was about to roll out, the Congress had urged the government not to push it out in haste or to implement GST with VAT. But the BJP went ahead. What is the situation now?  GST has destroyed many of the firms in the country. 

But the Congress continues to have an interim head?

There is no leadership crisis in the Congress. What was the content of a recent letter from Congress leaders to Sonia Gandhi? And yes it was wrong for the letter to have leaked but it showed the strong urge to choose a leader, to bring back Rahul Gandhi.

But it has been a year since the party has chosen a new leader?

Rahul Gandhi quit owing to the failure of the party in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. That shows his honesty and his democratic thought. He even demanded that someone else outside of the Gandhi family should succeed him.

Do you have the same opinion?

For a vast country like India, with such diversity, the only political leader in the contemporary political environment who can unite and move everyone together is Rahul Gandhi. Not even a single person in the Congress has objection to this and that was the spirit of the letter that a group of leaders sent to the party president. 

But why are Congress leaders in the state not sharp in their criticism od Modi and the BJP government. CM Pinarayi  Vijayan has been reiterating that Congress maintains a soft Hinduvta stand?

Pinarayi contested the elections in 1977 joining hands with the Jansangh, the then version of the BJP. The Marxist had joined hands with the right-wing in an opportunistic way in the past.  But the Congress has no such history.

But what about the current political scenario?

In Kerala, the BJP is not the prime opponent of the Congress. It is the Left. In national politics, Congress vehemently opposes the BJP and no other party attacks the BJP as Congress does. 

But leaders leaving the party to join the BJP have strengthened the latter?

Nothing like that. In 1982, the BJP had only two seats. From there, it's the Marxist party which helped the BJP to come to power. It was the Left which prevented Rajiv Gandhi from coming to power raising the Bofors allegations.It was the Marxist party that pulled strings in keeping the Congress away from power.

But the Congress couldn't even hold onto power with the JD(S) in Karnataka? And internal fighting in Rajasthan has come to the fore as well?

Those were isolated incidents. The Congress will survive all that. Only Congress can lead the country to a financial power.

In Kottayam it's said that the Kerala Congress (M) grew at the cost of Congress. This is despite prominent leaders like you, KC Joseph and Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan making Kottayam its fortress. And KC Joseph had to contest elections in the far away Iritti in Kannur?

That's because of the equations in coalition politics. KC(M) can be allotted a seat only in Kottayam (where the party exists). But when we look into local bodies and the post held in the district, one would realise which is the bigger party.

                                                                             KM Mani

But Mani's son Jose K Mani doesn't seem to follow these equations and neither does he acknowledge that the Congress did the same for him. And Congress leader VM Sudheeran has said that undue importance given to KC(M) has come back to bite the party?

People watch all this. And it's not an issue with the Congress; but something to do with the fighting between PJ Joseph and Jose K Mani (factions of the KC(M). Congress is just to its allies, taking all of them into confidence. We are empathetic to their demands and problems. That is why we gave the Rajya Sabha seat to Jose K Mani, to MP Veerendra Kumar...We won't see it as our leniency.  

There has also been criticism that Puthuppally has not been developed compared to Pala (the constituency in Kottayam represented by KM Mani for decades). What do you have to say?

I have been trying to bring in maximum development as possible. The exception is drinking water. My aim is to bring drinking water to all houses of the eight panchayats of the state. 

Over these 50 years, which political leader do you have a personal rapport with?

I have been close to AK Antony and Vayalar Ravi. I got into the KPCC Executive Committee when Vayalar Ravi was president of the Kerala Students Union (KSU). Till then I was the District Secretary of KSU in Kottayam. Two years after that, AK Antony was KSU president and I became the General Secretary. I was General Secretary for three years when Antony was the President. I succeeded him in the post. 

Are you close to anyone in the Left?

Three leaders whom I love and respect outside the Congress are no more now-  MN Govindan Nair, TV Thomas (both doyens of the CPI) and TK Divakaran (erstwhile leader of the Revolutionary Socialist Party).  

But there are accusations that you caused the fall of AK Antony in state politics? 

I have always backed him in whatever responsibilities he had. The Congress in the state has been supportive of him too. And his one time failure in Kerala proved to be a huge success for him in national politics. He has been elevated to one of the tallest leaders at the national level.

Do you agree with criticism that Congress leaders use the party to build their own careers while neglecting the party’s growth in recent times? 

I can't agree with that. There are some issues that Congress is not a cadre party. But don't forget that we won 19 out of the 20 seats in the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala. 

You have been unable to nurture a close relationship with the Gandhi family unlike many other Congress leaders both inside and outside Kerala?

I have been into state politics only. Soniaji appointed me  as in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, which was my first responsibility outside the state. I have no interest outside Kerala, but have a long relationship with Sonia Gandhi and Rahil Gandhi.

There’s some buzz that a few Congress MPs want to be back to state politics?

There is no problem for MLAs to contest in Lok Sabha elections and MPs to be back to the state in Congress, only that the High Command should be convinced of the reasons.

You would always be surrounded by people. Do you miss the people amid the pandemic?  

I have worked among people since the beginning. What I fear the most is loneliness. It's tough for me to be alone somewhere even during the day time. I have grown since my student politics years. I am particularly committed to the people of Puthuppally. 

It has been a long time, since 1970 to till now, how has political activity changed over the years? 

Political activity was a service then, to build up the nation from nothingness, it was a journey through the path laid down by Mahatma Gandhi. Now, politics has become pragmatic. In a democracy what matters most is to get power and to somehow retain power. This has not strengthened but weakened our democracies.The real strength of democracy lies in the faith of people. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity