Kamal Haasan had never disguised his admiration for Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He has been more explicit in the recent past, paying him a visit during the last Onam festival and showering him with petals of praise. He spent hours with the communist leader and had a long interview session with the CM for the party-run TV channel. They discussed politics as was happening in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, South India and across the country and shared their concerns.
The media went abuzz with Kamal’s imminent entry into politics, the possibilities of him going the Left way. Neither the actor nor the leader gave any obvious hints. The actor never denied his political ambitions either. He just wanted us to wait and watch. However, he did clarify the left ideology is being thrust upon him for being a rationalist.
Came New Year and Kamal exhorted the Chief Ministers of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala - not Tamil Nadu - to come together and show the might of the Dravidian collective to the Central Government and ensure South India gets its due.“Chandrababu Naidu, Chandrashekhar Rao, Siddaramaiah and Pinarayi Vijayan are all Dravidians. If the Dravidian identity is absorbed by South India, the discrimination will vanish,” he wrote in a column. “There is no shame in being known as the Shiva of South India. It just shows that he is omnipresent in all the states…” he opined.Even then there was no clarity on his political line.
The wait is over, almost. He reiterates that Pinarayi Vijayan is indeed his inspiration, his political guru! He had visited him last year, spent quality time and Kamal has been indicating his entry into politics for some time now. And the latest - Kamal acknowledges Pinarayi indeed is his guide, but he is not getting into the red revolutionary path! And he says he cannot hug Rajinikanth if his colour is saffron….
Well, the enigma continues… The question is - What did Pinarayi advise him! Not to repeat the mistake he and his comrades committed?
The Unkindest Cut
There could be differences inside any party - ideological, tactical, strategic, at times even factionalism based on personalities. The communist parties too were no different. But they used to be careful not to go public about such internal tussles, except in exceptional outbursts as happened in the famed V S Achuthanandan vs Pinarayi Vijayan factionalism that erupted in Kerala.
However, the Bengal unit of the CPM has chosen to throw all that caution to the wind and by going public with their demand to the PB to discuss the controversies surrounding the financial deals by Binoy, son of the party’s Kerala state secretary and PB member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. It was reported in the last state committee meeting some leaders slammed the disrepute the scandal has brought to the party, nationally. They also want the PB to come out with a statement on the issue.
True, the Kerala state unit, barring VS, had vehemently opposed the proposal by the Bengal unit to strike up an alliance with the Congress and an earlier attempt to send Sitaram Yechury to the Rajya Sabha, again with Congress support. But to hit back with such brutality, that too below the belt…!