Kottayam: The Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese has lambasted the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government in Kerala for its alleged authoritarian policies vis-a-vis the proposed SilverLine Project and the Lokayukta Ordinance.
The criticisms have been voiced in a hard-hitting editorial dated February 10 under the title 'Mao-line devoid of dialogue' in Sathyadeepam, the official publication of the archdiocese that belongs to the Syro Malabar Catholic Church.
The piece opens with a reference to China's evolution; three decades under Chairman Mao (Zedong) during which period China emerged as a political force, followed by the Deng Xiaoping reign and the emergence of Xi Jinping in 2013 (sic) resulting in the political philosophy of Xiism.
"China that used to be a nation of one party has become a one-man nation," the editorial notes, the inference being Jinping positioning himself as the nation's indefinite ruler.
"To learn from this illusory China is what the senior thinkers of Kerala's communist party said at its recent conferences. The party secretary reiterated the same," Sathyadeepan states.
Having earlier established how the communist party in China believed that it was necessary to blindly trust its leader (Mao) even when his ideas were initially incomprehensive, the piece draws a comparison to the recent developments in Kerala, which is ruled by the Left front.
"Whether what is said is understood is irrelevant. Those who propagate a dangerous philosophy that if it is the party that is saying there is not need to understand are now introducing K-Rail as the last train for development."
Sathyadeepam also takes a dig at the recent cyber attack on poet Rafeeq Ahammed, a left sympathiser, who ridiculed the project with his verses 'where to, so fast'.
The Supreme Court voicing concerns over the project's public support and the opposition questioning the absence of a debate with regards to SilverLine's likely social-environmental-economic impact also gets mentioned in the editorial.
"When the majority say that it cannot grasp why the chief minister and the party keeps repeating that K-Rail is the solution to Kerala's developmental issues even if it pushed tens of thousands into streets, the government is on a Mao-line that it would move ahead regardless of whether the project was understood.
"The problem isn't just K-Rail. The government's response to a query on why the rush, without dialogues and by silencing opposing voices, was to lay survey stones even in the kitchen of the poor. The Centre is of the stand that in-principle approval is not the nod for land acquisition."
Sathyadeepam then confronts the LDF government on the recent Lokayukta ordinance issue saying it is also laced with an "unnecessary rush".
"It is a basic fascist tactic to use ignorance as a path to establish the rule. It was Mussolini who said that all should not be informed everything that political equality was not needed and that the biggest farce in the world was political equality.
"Those who end dialogues and fear conversations are on a fascist path."
The article further warns that "it was undemocratic to think that anything can be accomplished with a few cyberbullies in the ranks". "The problem is that programmes and projects are conceived from top to bottom. Even if the party has forgotten its legacy of people's planning, the public still remembers.
"...It is important to guide Kerala into the future. Projects that ensure development are needed too. But a mindset to see the light through dialogues is essential. That isn't subservience, it is sensibility. It is also a friendly approach the present requires, don't forget," the editorial notes.
