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The Print
21-07-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Kerala ex-CM, Marxist stalwart & ‘comrade with anti-party mindset'. The many faces of Achuthanandan
Achuthanandan was rushed to the private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram in June after he suffered a cardiac arrest. Achuthanandan retired from active politics in 2019 after suffering a mild stroke. He had since been living with his son V.A. Arun Kumar in Thiruvananthapuram where doctors restricted the number of visitors he could receive on account of age-related ailments. Chennai: Marxist stalwart V.S. Achuthanandan died Monday at the age of 101 at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. He had served as chief minister of Kerala from 2006-2011 and last held the post of chairman of Kerala Administrative Reforms Commission from 2016-2021. In his condolence message Monday, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said Achuthanandan was not just a political leader but a moral force who brought environmental, human rights, and gender issues to the heart of mainstream political discourse. 'With his passing, we have lost the final link to the chapter of our political evolution,' Vijayan wrote. Achuthanandan was the MLA from Malampuzha constituency from 2001 till 2021. His last term as MLA ended in May 2021, making the end of his active legislative career spanning over two decades. In total, he served as an MLA for more than 34 years. When he completed his tenure in the 14th Kerala Legislative Assembly at the age of 97 in May 2021, he was the eldest member ever in the history of the House. He served as the CPI (Marxist) Kerala state secretary between 1980 and 1992 and was later inducted into the politburo in 1985. Achuthanandan is known for his initiatives including anti-encroachment drive at Munnar, crackdown on lottery mafia in Kerala, demolition drives against illegal encroachments in Kochi and anti-piracy operations across the state during his tenure as chief minister. Born in Punnapra, Alappuzha, to Sankaran and Accamma, Velikkakathu Sankaran Achuthanandan lost his mother when he was 4 and his father when he was 11. Financial constraints forced him to leave school after Class 7, which is when he started working in factories, joined labour unions and later the Communist Party of India (CPI) in 1940. It was during this period that he took part in the Punnapra-Vayalar militant Communist uprising against the rule of the Maharaja of Travancore who had declared that Travancore would not join India. Achuthanandan was among those arrested for taking part in the uprising in October 1946. After Independence, in 1952, he became Alappuzha division secretary of the unified Communist Party of India and in a span of five years, rose to the level of district secretary before being appointed state secretariat member in 1957. In 1964, he was among the 32 prominent members who broke away from the CPI and formed Communist Party of India (Marxist). When he was state secretary and a member of the party's politburo, he successfully contested the 1991 Assembly elections and was projected as the chief ministerial candidate during the 1996 Assembly elections. Nevertheless, he lost the election from Mararikulam. In 2001, although he won from Malampuzha, the Left-led coalition could not form the government and he served as Leader of the Opposition. In 2006, he once again won from the same constituency, and was elected chief minister by the Left-led coalition. Although he served as the chief minister between 2006 and 2011, CPI(M) denied him a ticket in 2011, leading to a statewide protest, forcing the party to field him from Malampuzha and he won. It was in the 1960s that Achuthanandan first faced heat from the party after he organised a blood donation camp for Army jawans during the Chinese aggression, which went against the party's line of action. He was demoted from the central committee to the district secretariat. After becoming chief minister in 2006, Achuthanandan publicly criticised fellow cabinet ministers Thomas Isaac and Paloli Mohammed Kutty over the decision to accept a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). However, the CPI(M) central leadership did little beyond issuing him a warning. In 2007, Achuthanandan was suspended from the CPI(M) politburo along with Pinarayi Vijayan due to factionalism within the Kerala unit of CPI(M). Both were reinstated six months later. Later in 2009, Achuthanandan was removed from the CPI(M)'s politburo again, supposedly due to his vocal opposition to Vijayan. In 2015, he walked out of the CPI(M) state conference in Alappuzha to protest criticism from party delegates over his feud with Vijayan. He was labeled as a 'comrade with an anti-party mindset' in the resolution passed at the party conference. (Edited by Amrtansh Arora) Also Read: A Malayalee from Gujarat is shaking up Kerala BJP. Rajeev Chandrasekhar's un-Sangh poll campaign
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump, Musk plan to cut 80,000 Veterans Affairs jobs will cost lives
I'm 92, and I never wrote a letter to the editor. These days it feels scary to do so. But the news that Elon Musk and President Donald Trump plan to eliminate 80,000 positions at the Department of Veterans Affairs galvanized me. I worked in Raleigh for 14 years for three U.S. senators helping veterans get health care and other services they desperately needed at the V.A. The agency was already understaffed, and to cut services so drastically is criminal and will cost lives. M. J. Joyner, Raleigh I was honored to be among soldiers, public safety workers and relatives as a reader for 'Readers Are Leaders Day' at Dunn Elementary School in Harnett County. My experience was an absolute joy! I am a life-long advocate for public schools, and everything about that day confirmed my belief public schools are our country's lifeblood. I was met with professionalism from staff. Not once did I observe anything that was out of order, from the building to behavior. I experienced respect and warm hospitality from everyone. All of this was a manifestation of outstanding leadership. I commend Principal Dr. Beard, her staff and faculty. They have my admiration, respect and gratitude. Jane Brocious, Raleigh The Republican-only senatorial meeting with Musk transpired with the senators 'gently' begging him to let them know in advance of his destructive actions against our institutions and to allow them to offer some advice. These are elected officials bowing before an unelected official. This is not okay. Musk fired massive numbers of essential federal workers, and branded as 'parasites' Medicaid recipients, mostly children, disabled and the elderly poor. Musk is the true parasite, having received $38 billion in federal money. Is the Republican-controlled Congress willing to betray everyone to stay in power, or are they deluded? Our country and citizens are being grievously harmed. Trump and Republicans don't care. Sarah Stein, Raleigh Americans are tired of antisemitism, boys in girls sports and a bloated wasteful federal government. The far-left favors all these. Until Democrats break from the insane left wing, they will continue to lose elections. Lee Hortman, Raleigh I've spent years fighting HIV/AIDS as an epidemiologist. I'm appalled by the dismantling of USAID. In Malawi, one of Africa's poorest countries, twenty years ago a thoroughfare was called 'Coffin Road' because all you could buy was coffins due to the toll of HIV. Now the coffin sellers have moved to other work thanks to USAID. Globally, U.S. leadership helped save 25 million lives through AIDS relief and USAID. USAID costs less than 1% of the federal budget. Both parties have praised it for 60 years. Dismantling USAID means treatment programs are shuttered, leaving millions without lifesaving medicine. Dismantling USAID tells the world we no longer care about saving lives or protecting our homeland from diseases. It says we want Coffin Road back. Brian Pence, Carrboro I watch with horror what the Trump administration is doing to our universities and urge all our NC members of Congress to stand up for universities' rights to determine their curricula and safety policies. North Carolina has elite universities which create untold opportunities that improve lives and the nation. Trump's people have tried to kill NIH funding, which affects our universities. They have threatened Columbia University by withholding $400M in grants and alleging it doesn't police antisemitism. Trump's dastardly U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., has threatened Georgetown Law School because he thinks it teaches DEI. Enough! To allow people to thrive, the administration must support education, not denigrate it. We demand that our NC congressional leaders fight for our universities. Laura Stillman, Raleigh Your Mar. 6 article about Trump wanting to end the CHIPS program is troubling. Senator Thom Tillis, what are you going to say when an opponent stands in front of the abandoned Wolfspeed semiconductor plant in Siler City and says that you canceled 1,600 jobs and screwed the investors and American competitiveness by abolishing the CHIPS act that you voted for in 2022? Daniel Oldman, Chapel Hill
