Comrade Lenin sticks a white flag, with the letters ‘DYFI’ (Democratic Youth Federation of India) emblazoned in red, onto the police barricade, about half a kilometre from the Central Stadium at Thiruvananthapuram where the mass contact programme (Jana Samparka Paripadi) by Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is on. Young Lenin’s colleagues in T-shirts and jeans shout slogans against Chandy. S Mahesh, a DYFI member says, “Chandy should resign. This mass contact programme is a gimmick. People are standing in the sun for so long and they will get nothing.”
“So, what is your plan of action?” asks a curious onlooker.
“The first step is to bring down this barricade,” he replies.
At some distance away stands a complacent looking N Radhakrishnan, Assistant Sub Inspector, who declares coolly, “Everything is under control. We expect no trouble.”
His words turn out to be true. The Left Democratic Front protest against the chief minister fizzles out by noon.
Inside the stadium, a large shamiama has been put up and people wait patiently on red plastic chairs. On the stage is Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, sitting along with ministerial colleagues, K C Joseph, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, K Babu, and V S Sivakumar. A row of marigolds and sunflowers placed on the edge of the stage forms a nice touch.
“Please come, please come,” the chief minister invites, beckoning to a line of petitioners. Immediately, grey-haired B Lalkumar sitting on a plastic chair is carried to the stage by two men. “I used to work as a labourer,” he tells the chief minister. “Five years ago, I fell from a tree, while plucking pepper and became paralysed from the waist down. Please help me.”
Chandy asks a few questions, nods silently, writes `50,000 on the petition and signs his name with a flourish. Afterwards, Lalkumar smiles and says, “This is a great programme for poor people like me. We get immediate relief.” Yes, indeed, when his relatives go to a counter manned by the district Collector's staff, they are handed over a cheque for the amount promised.
A collective gasp from crowd rises when a stretcher borne by Kerala Police constables is brought and placed on the table in front of Chandy. On it lies S Pushparaj, 38, in a striped black and white shirt and a white dhoti. Like Lalkumar, he was paralysed following a fall from a coconut tree. His three sons, Sujith (11), Ajit (10), and Prajith (8) stand next to their father. “We have no income,” says Pushparaj's tearful wife Geeta. “We depend on the kindness of relatives and neighbours to survive.” This time, Chandy is clearly moved. He writes Rs 1 lakh on the petition sheet, and immediately orders the transfer of their ration card from Above the Poverty Line to Below.
And so it goes, victim after victim, coming in front of a chief minister, who clearly has his heart in the right place, and immediate relief is granted to those whose lives have been blighted by misfortune or senseless tragedy.
Even hardened policemen are moved. “I am shocked to see so many people faceing financial problems, and are unable to avail of medical facilities,” says a woman sub-inspector who does not wish to be identified. “There are so many poor people in Kerala. I feel sad at their plight, and this is a wonderful programme.”
How does Chandy's mass contact programme system work? This particular programme in Thiruvanthapuram district is only for the people living there. “By early July, 14,957 petitions were received online,” says S Gopakumar, Group Head (Technology), of the Centre for Development of Imaging Technology, which is handling the software. “Following recommendations from the taluk and districts, the most meritorious cases have been whittled down to about 500. District Collectors can clear only up to a maximum amount of Rs 10,000 for financial assistance from the CM’s Distress Relief Fund. Since these people need more money, they were asked to meet the chief minister for funds, ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh. In total, Rs 1.53 crore has been disbursed today.”
A day later, at 8 am on Saturday, at Cliff House, the chief minister’s official residence, a beaming Oommen Chandy says, “Yesterday’s programme was a grand success. In a mass contact programme, people think that those who get the benefits and the cash payments are the biggest beneficiaries. But that is not true. I am the biggest beneficiary. I became aware of so many problems of the people which I did not know about earlier. This has been the biggest experience of my career. Earlier, I did this exercise in all the 14 districts of Kerala. The knowledge I got about life has been the equivalent of reading 100 books.”
Chandy is even more happy that the programme was a revelation to his fellow ministers. “Many of them told me that they did not know that so many people faced so many problems,” he says. “It is clear that this programme has to continue.” It may be also able to remove the glare of the Solar scam.