There are many ways to compare two Fronts

N.S.Sajith

People of Kerala have got many chances to compare the Ruling United Democratic Front and Opposition Left Democratic Front. The change of rule gives them countless opportunity to evaluate these fronts as the ruling front decided to raise the Bus fare, Milk price. The failure of state administration to curtail price rise during festival like Onam and Iid ul Fitr, also fomented the wrath of the people.

These are simply related to the priority, political will and performance of the two ideologies. The recent development regarding a criminal case against the Irrigation Minister P J Joseph is going to testify the morality of these fronts. The future of Joseph’s minister ship is at the stake as a First Class Magistrate on Saturday ordered a summons to him to appear before the court on October 22^nd in connection with a case alleging that the Minister had sent abusive SMS to a Surabhi Das a woman residing in Thodupuzha, in Idukki district.

The court ordered the summons on the basis of the witnesses ‘evidence including that of her husband. Joseph’s resignation is already sought by the Left Democratic Front’s convener Vaikom Viswan.

The same minister had experience a same circumstance while he was the Minister for Public works Department in the previous LDF Ministry. Joseph’s party, Kerala Congress (Joseph) was merged with Kerala Congress Mani group prior to the last Assembly elections.

In 2006 Lakshmi Gopakumar, a television personality had lodged a complaint against P J Joseph that he had misbehaved with while they were travelling by a Chennai-Kochi flight on August 3, 2006. Soon after this case registered, as per the direction LDF the then Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan advised the minister to tender resignation. Then the government ordered an enquiry headed by a senior police officer B Sandhya. In this case the district Munsif-Cum-Judicial Magistrate Court at Sriperumbudur has passed an order to acquit Joseph.

The new case against Joseph has multifarious dimensions. Though Mr. Joseph alleged political conspiracy behind the case, he aims the gun against his party leader and Government Chief Whip P C George. P C George formerly headed a splinter group, Kerala Congress (Secular) had merged with Mani group along with Joseph. Joseph believes that George and Mr. Nandakuamar, editor of a notorious vulgar magazine Crime, hatched the conspiracy against him.

Joseph has been charged under section of 511(moral guilt) of the IPC and the section 6of the Information Technology Act. The necessity of the resignation of the minister is the moral question which the case raising. The previous government took sudden action soon after a complaint lodged by a woman. In this case the court itself finds a prima facie case against the minister. Will the UDF leadership react to the question of Morality? People of Kerala are keenly looking for the answer.