THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the Congress and the CPM are all out to take over the reigns of Pallichal Panchayat, Mookunnimala issue is going to be crucial for both the parties in at least five of the 23 wards. Though both the parties claim that the issue of quarrying in the hill will not have any adverse impact on their winning chances, the residents in and around Mookunnimala are all out against the political leaders who are alleged to be hand-in-glove with the quarry mafia.
The Mookunnimala Samrakshana Samithi has decided to take out campaigns in all the 23 wards, highlighting the issue and also the approach of the various parties to the issue. However, the main focus of the campaign would be on the wards of Pamamcode, Mookunnimala, Kulangarakonam, Edacode and Pravachambalam, which lie adjacent to the hill. Even if the Mookunnimala issue is not going to be an issue in the whole of the panchayat, the political parties will be feeling the heat of the campaign in the five wards mentioned, where almost the entire population had come out against the illegal mining.
Noting that the issue would have an impact on the local body elections, Samithi joint convenor Surendra Kumar said that they will form squads and conduct door-to-door campaigning. ‘’We will expose the political parties who have been helping the quarry mafia,’’ he said.
It should be noted that many of the Samithi activists and their family members had boycotted the last Lok Sabha elections. They had even placed boards and posters warning the politicians to keep away from their houses. When asked about fielding a candidate, Surendra Kumar said that the Samithi would not field any candidate. However, he said that some of the persons who had been jailed following a complaint by the panchayat authorities for allegedly vandalising the panchayat office have expressed the hope of contesting the elections. A final decision in this regard has not been taken yet, he added.
Even as the Samithi is all out to expose the politicians in the Mookunnimala issue, Congress leader and Pallichal Panchayat president R Rakesh said that the issue will not have any impact. He also alleged that the Mookunnimala Samrakshana Samithi had some hidden political agenda. ‘’The issue is not going to affect the winning possibility of Congress. The panchayat has not given any licence and the quarries are now functioning in the hill based on the orders from the court. The present panchayat committee had last year cancelled all the licences issued from 1999,’’ he said.
CPM leaders also said that though the issue raised by Samithi has some truth, it is not going to have any influence on the elections.
