Kerala govt takes over Marxist renegade's institutions

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

The structure and management of some institutions in Kerala keep changing as the voters swing back and forth between the Communist-led Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front.

The latest in the series of such institutions is the Pariyaram Cooperative Medical College and Hospital at Kannur, a pet project of M V Raghavan, the Communist Party of India-Marxist's sworn enemy.

Earlier, the management of the Nedumbasserry airport company was changed by the CPI(M)-led government to keep former federal industries minister K Karunakaran and his men away.

The CPI-M has been waging a battle against the Pariyaram college and hospital ever since it was launched by Raghavan while he was the cooperation minister under the Congress regime.

While it was a foregone conclusion that the CPI(M)-led government would take over the college and hospital, why it took so long to do so remains a surprise. The college and hospital were taken over by the government on February 10 evening, following the promulgation of an ordinance the previous day. The takeover has led to a war of words between the two sides along political lines.

While M V Raghavan said that the takeover of the institutions will ruin their future, Chief Minister E K Nayanar claimed that the government has done everything possible to ensure their smooth running. He said that the Kerala government had also taken the concurrence of the President of India.

Raghavan, who was the president of the hospital and the advanced medical sciences college, said that the college may lose its recognition as it was recognised by the Indian Medical Council on the condition that it will not be taken over by the government. The former minister also said that the trust controlling the medical college would move the courts against the takeover. Different medical organisations in the state have also echoed similar fears.

Whatever be the future of the institutions, its present does not inspire any confidence. The Housing and Urban Development Corporation, which had promised a loan of Rs 500 million for the construction of the complex, withheld the advance bringing construction work to a standstill. The state government, facing a resource crunch, is not in a position to meet the cost, estimated to be Rs 1.6 billion.

The college and hospital is said to be the first of its kind in Asia. The college has already started functioning, while the work on the hospital complex is to start. The previous government had sought the support of non-resident Indians for the establishment of the institutions, with the promise of concessions for the wards of NRIs in the hospital and for admissions to the college.

Kerala has been witnessing a running battle between Raghavan and the CPI-M ever since the former floated his own Communist-Marxist Party following his expulsion from the CPI-M. He was expelled after he advocated an alliance with parties the CPI-M considered communal.