# Ajayan
Kerala has of late been caught in a blizzard of fairy tale-like claims, mostly courtesy Kerala’s ruling party. And the official claim targets the media as the designated villains behind these slanders for reasons obvious. From the tragic case of Naveen Babu’s death to the Chief Minister’s sudden revelation that the Thrissur Pooram went off without disruption (as if everyone else imagined it), the stream of “alternative facts” is so relentless that the public reaction has settled into a collective shrug.
It has been a flood of tears and promises from those in power to assure all that they stand firmly by Naveen Babu’s family. Yet, somehow, they’ve managed to wrap the prime accused - former Kannur district panchayat president PP Divya - in a protective bubble. Arrest? Not even close. Questioning? Only for everyone except her, of course. It’s almost poetic, such dedication to “justice,” as long as it does not inconvenience the right people.
Ask CPI(M) State secretary MV Govindan, (Pinarayi has gone into his regular silence on serious matters) and you'll get the usual jargon-laden refrain: there are "official investigations" at "various levels", as assured by honorable Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, with the promise of “proper” action at the “proper” time. And, like clockwork, comes the solemn line, “We stand by the family of Naveen Babu.” But the people of Kerala, including many loyal Left supporters, see right through it, fully aware of just how "improper" this so-called "proper" action really will be.
The grand promises of “rooting out corruption” and breathing “life into every file” seem to shrivel up when the party meekly defends Divya’s so-called “good intentions” in her crusade against bureaucratic corruption. Apparently, the party leadership, silencing the voices of dissent in Pathanamthitta, the home district of Naveen Babu, still sticks to this narrative of Divya’s “noble motives”. Tragically, all while insisting that Naveen Babu was somehow never corrupt. Once again, the façade cracks, and the truth behind this convenient little tale of the big lie is laid bare.
The big lie of a fabricated complaint that the owner of the proposed petrol bunk, a casual labourer at Pariyaram Medical College, has no ties to the CPI(M) is a glaring omission from the party's propaganda. Unfortunately for the party, the public sees right through it. It is classic misdirection, neatly sidestepping the obvious question: how could a casual labourer even dream of owning a petrol bunk. Naturally, such inconvenient details don’t quite fit into the party's carefully crafted narrative – or rather "scheme".
The party is hell bent on insisting that everyone just erase from memory that ‘little’ case of nepotism - the Income Tax Tribunal report exposing CMRL's monthly payoffs to none other than Pinarayi’s daughter. Of course, the CPM leadership brushed it off as just a harmless business deal between two companies. Standing by a disturbed family has its roots in the Chief Minister’s impressive display of outrage, verbally bulldozing the Opposition MLA who dared to bring it up in the Assembly. Naturally, in the party's grand anti-corruption parade, the people are expected to ignore all that. And even this, where the report explicitly states that the favourable treatment was extended because she is the daughter of a “prominent” leader - initials “PV”. Later in the report, the explanation comes that this “PV” is Pinarayi Vijayan. But, with a straight face, the Chief Minister insists that this “PV” does not refer to him.
Everyone, including the CPM-led LDF allies and even the party’s own loyalists, knows that this year’s famous Thrissur Pooram was indeed disrupted, thanks to police barricades that blocked free movement and even prevented the lighting of lamps. While political leaders were kept at arm's length by the police, who else but BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate, Suresh Gopi, emerged heroically from an ambulance to “settle” the mess.
Whether the ADGP in charge, notorious for hobnobbing with RSS leaders without earning Pinarayi’s wrath, had a hand in this will only be revealed once the Government’s “investigations” wrap up. But before any of that, Pinarayi has already declared that everything went off without much hitch - the rituals, the fireworks, though admittedly delayed a bit. Amid the whirlwind of the byelection campaign, it seems that only Pinarayi and the BJP share a nearly common tune. And soon enough, we can find out just how the music plays out.
Remember how both Narendra Modi and Pinarayi rushed to declare their unwavering support for the people of Wayanad after the disaster? Grand promises, heartfelt assurances - and yet, actual relief remains elusive. That too when the Pinarayi Government helpfully provided a detailed expense list in its memorandum, suggesting it costs a staggering Rs 75,000 just to cremate a body. Support, in these times, may come only with a hefty price tag.
Blame it on the media has been the party’s trump card, played to perfection. Recently, a former MP didn’t even bother with subtlety, comparing journalists to “dogs standing outside a butcher shop”. Images surface of how this same leader, years back, famously smeared his shirt with blood from a senior comrade’s injury for a more “impactful” protest visual. The latest tale spun for public consumption is that the entire so-called crisis is just the result of the media’s “distorted” and anti-government agenda. It echoes back to when Pinarayi, as State party secretary, claimed there was a syndicate working against the party. The only rebuttal needed came swiftly from VS Achuthanandan, the last surviving CPI(M) founder, who wryly noted that everyone knows exactly where this “syndicate” is operating from. But now, with Achuthanandan’s health silencing his sharp voice amid all this blabber, perhaps it is time to take a page from Arendt on the art of truth-bending. “A people that can no longer distinguish between truth and lies… With such a people you can do what you want.”