Thiruvananthapuram, June 2 (SocialNews.XYZ) In his first address in the 16th Kerala Assembly on Tuesday, after a dramatic political comeback, veteran leader G. Sudhakaran delivered a blistering critique of Kerala’s cultural landscape, the younger generation, contemporary politics, and even the ideological direction of the Left movement itself.
The speech carried added significance because it marked the Assembly return of one of the CPI(M)’s most prominent leaders, who spent more than five decades in the party before parting ways under bitter circumstances.
A four-time MLA and Public Works Minister in the first Pinarayi Vijayan government (2016–21), Sudhakaran was denied a ticket by the CPI(M) in the 2021 Assembly election, a decision that strained his relationship with the party leadership.
When the veteran decided to re-enter the electoral arena in the latest Assembly election, the Congress-led UDF threw its weight behind him in his traditional Ambalapuzha constituency.
Despite an aggressive campaign by his former party to defeat him, Sudhakaran registered a resounding victory, one of the most politically significant wins of the election.
The Congress-led UDF gave him further respectability when he was elected Pro-Tem Speaker and swore in all 139 legislators.
On Tuesday, the veteran wasted little time in making his presence felt.
He lamented what he described as the decline of Kerala’s cultural sphere, alleging that many of today’s cultural figures had become mere “bootlickers”.
He expressed concern over drug abuse among the youth and questioned the ideological commitment of younger political activists. He asked how many among today’s Communists had actually read the Communist Manifesto, drawing rapt attention from members across the House.
Sudhakaran then moved to larger ideological questions that have long animated Left politics. He asked how the Soviet Union collapsed and whether Kerala should be pursuing social democracy or people’s democracy.
While stressing that he had only affection and respect for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Sudhakaran also delivered subtle criticism of the government’s functioning.
He ridiculed the controversial “yellow marker” campaign, arguing that symbolic exercises could not substitute genuine social transformation. “Merely talking about New Kerala or Renaissance Kerala is not enough. Renaissance is not achieved by reading out prepared texts,” he said.
He also called for a white paper on Kerala’s finances and demanded action against alleged illegal mining of mineral sands.
Part political critique, part ideological introspection, and part warning to the establishment, Sudhakaran’s maiden speech as an Independent MLA ensured that one of Kerala’s most colourful political figures remains as capable as ever of commanding the Assembly’s attention.
Source: IANS
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