"Be wary of avatars who claim to be close to me; they are unfamiliar with my administrative style!" came the pithy advice from Pinarayi Vijayan, on the eve of his first tenure as Chief Minister in 2016. In the light of a person's claim of heading to Hyderabad, allegedly on Pinarayi's directions, even before he took over, the CPM veteran had issued this terse warning to ensure transparency and accountability at the highest level of power in the state. Coming close on the heels of allegations against the personal staff of the then incumbent CM Oommen Chandy, the remark was widely perceived as a clarion call to his own personal staff members to keep in line.
However eight years later, it seems Pinarayi's cautionary note has failed to deter his so-called avatars who keep popping up, time and again, in and around the corridors of power. The Kerala CMO has not only been dragged into needless controversies - including gold smuggling allegations against a senior IAS officer - but has also found itself at the receiving end of significant lapses in the conduct of its daily affairs.
The CMO's most recent run-in with a PR agency over an interview of the CM with a leading national daily is just one among the many political fiascos that have happened of late. The latest controversy pertains to the Chief Minister's purported condemnation of alleged unlawful activities in Malappuram, in the backdrop of the gold smuggling through Karipur Airport located in the district. The reported remarks by the CM were carried by a national daily (not The New Indian Express) on September 30, as part of an interview that was allegedly facilitated by a PR agency.
Soon after the interview was published, it created a huge uproar in the state, as the Opposition UDF, especially its second biggest ally, the Muslim League, came down heavily on the Chief Minister for remarks that portrayed the district, with its majority Muslim population, in bad light. The Congress unleashed a scathing attack on CM Pinarayi and the CPM for his 'anti-Muslim' portrayal. A day after, on October 1, the CMO came out with an open rejoinder to the said daily, pointing out that the controversial remarks were wrongly attributed to the Chief Minister.
The newspaper promptly acknowledged its error, apologised, and clarified that the interview was facilitated by PR agency Kaizzen, which arranged the interview at Kerala House in New Delhi. Two of its representatives had sat through the interview, and the portion that the CMO disowned, was given to be added by the agency. This public admission of guilt did not quite augur well for the CPM and CM Pinarayi, as it also brought out into the open, the role played by a public relations agency in the conduct of the interview.
The prompt response boomeranged on the ruling Left, which has consistently denied reports of engaging a PR agency to boost its image. The PR disaster had now, not just proved the government's claims untrue, but also paved the way for a political setback.
In a desperate attempt to wriggle out of the PR conundrum that the CPM found itself in, Pinarayi Vijayan came out with a briefing that categorically denied engaging of any such PR agency by either him, the CMO or the party. Pinarayi even clarified that it was ex-CPM MLA TK Devakumar's son TD Subramanian who had arranged the interview, while going on to however admit the presence of a third person, besides Subramanian, during the interview. Later on, it was the turn of the CPM state chief to join the burgeoning bandwagon of naysayers, reiterating to the media that the party had not engaged any PR agency.
Despite the efforts by the CM and the CPM leadership, this public relation disaster left the LDF-led state government and the CPM red-faced, raising bigger questions on the government's accountability and transparency. That the controversy came close on the heels of the PV Anvar allegations over an ADGP - RSS meeting and the Thrissur Pooram fiasco, only aggravated the situation.
Even though both the CPM leadership and the Chief Minister officially distanced themselves from the PR fiasco over the interview, the whole episode has left several unanswered questions. If the government had not engaged any public relations firm, as claimed by the CM, shouldn't there be legal action against the person or the agency that tried to propagate communally sensitive and false information in the CM's name?
Another curious aspect was the intriguing involvement of a PR person who claimed to be working to promote the interests of the Left government in media circles. The said individual has been persistently approaching media firms for some time now, equipped with PR information reportedly favouring the LDF government. An ex-journalist from the state, now based in Mumbai, this person has been actively trying to promote the state government for hitherto unclear reasons. Currently a public relations strategist, he's learnt to have approached quite a few senior journalists and media firms, seeking to promote the state government and its activities through them.
A media agency in the capital too was approached and offered the chief minister's interview. In a few other instances, articles on controversial and widely debated issues including gold smuggling through Karipur airport, the PV Anvar-ADGP row, the state government's position on the Justice Hema Committee report and general articles promoting the Kerala brand were offered for publication by the same individual. Sources said visual media channels, journalists and media firms - both within the state and outside including the national capital - were approached, apparently seeking to project the Left government. "He started working as PR strategist for the government about two months ago. Going by the latest information received, he has been given the marching orders, after the recent PR disaster," sources confirmed.
Political commentator J Prabhash wondered why there was no action against the CPM leader's son who facilitated the interview. The CM himself admitted that certain serious remarks were wrongly attributed to him. "When the CMO has a full fledged media team, how can such a sensitive remark infiltrate into his interview? In the first instance it should not have happened. When there's no action despite such blunders, it should be understood that there's something fishy in the whole episode. It almost seems a deliberate act to not proceed against some particular person," he pointed out.
It's a well-known fact that a number of politicians, including some ministers, have engaged PR agencies for image makeovers and brand-building for themselves among the masses. Such agencies prefer to operate more on social media for wider visibility. It could be a first for the Left to find itself trapped in such a tricky situation.
A section in the CPM is unhappy with the PR row, as they feel the government has left several pertinent questions unanswered. Some of the CPM leaders pointed out that some over-enthusiastic individuals - linked with the party and the government - are behind the PR disaster.
"The chief minister is known to be very protective of those close to him. That could be the reason why no action was taken. But it has done major damage to the CPM and the Left. The party is finding it difficult to explain the entire row. Especially after the PV Anvar episode - where the dissident Left MLA openly came out against the CMO and the chief minister - the party will have to do some extensive reaching out to the masses to explain the whole matter," said a senior CPM leader.
There are indications that the whole flip-flop was the result of a sore lack of communication and coordination among some senior officials in the government, especially within the CMO. If sources are to be believed, some senior officials in the top echelons of the government were in the know about the whole issue. For now, Pinarayi's prophetic advice seems to have failed miserably in reining in his cloned 'avatars!'