KL This Week: Teachers, Employees Observe ‘Black Day’ Against Centre's Neglect

Newsclick lists important developments from Kerala during the week, including the induction of women officers to fire and rescue services; announcement of candidates for Lok Sabha elections by Congress; Padmaja Venugopal, daughter of former Chief Minister K Karunakaran joining Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after resigning from Congress; protest march by teachers and employees’ associations against alleged financial blockade of Kerala and the increasing number of deaths due to animal attacks. 

CONGRESS ANNOUNCES CANDIDATES 

The Congress party, after prolonged discussions, announced 16 candidates for the upcoming general elections. The party has fielded all the sitting members of Parliament except one. Rahul Gandhi will seek re-election from Wayanad, while K Muraleedharan, a sitting MP from Vadakara will seek the people's mandate from Thrissur. Sitting member T N Prathapan has already begun his campaign in the constituency.

K C Venugopal, Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan and general secretary (Organisation) of Congress, has been fielded from Alappuzha. He represented the constituency between 2009 and 2019. His candidature has drawn criticism from different quarters since his term is set to expire in June 2026, while a victory in the Lok Sabha elections would lead to BJP gaining the Rajya Sabha slot.

K Sudhakaran, president of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), will contest from Kannur, though he was reportedly reluctant to contest again, while Shafi Parambil, MLA from Palakkad has been fielded from Vadakara, Shashi Tharoor (Thiruvananthapuram), Adoor Prakash (Attingal), Anto Antony (Pathanamthitta), Kodikunnil Suresh (Mavelikara), Dean Kuriakose (Idukki), Hibi Eden (Ernakulam), Benny Behanan (Chalakudy), Remya Haridas (Alathur), V K Sreekandan (Palakkad) and Rajmohan Unnithan (Kasaragod) are the others seeking re-election. 

PADMAJA VENUGOPAL DESERTS CONGRESS

In a setback to Congress ahead of the general elections, Padmaja Venugopal, Congress leader and daughter of late Congress veteran K Karunakaran joined BJP. She claimed she was sidelined by the party for long and hence was forced to desert the party. 

Though the KPCC leadership has downplayed her shifting of loyalty toward the saffron party, the party has a lot to answer since an array of senior Congress leaders have been shifting camps in the run-up to the elections. Recently, C Raghunath, another Congress leader, who contested against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Dharmadam Assembly segment, joined BJP, which has fielded in the Kannur Lok Sabha constituency. 

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) is utilising the flow of Congress leaders from within and outside Kerala as a political campaign and questioning the reliability of the Congress representatives. 

Anil Antony, son of another former Congress Chief Minister A K Antony, too, is a BJP candidate from the Pathanamthitta constituency. K Muraleedharan, brother of Padmaja, is the Congress candidate from Thrissur.  

WOMEN OFFICERS IN FIRE AND RESCUE

For the first time in the history of the state’s fire and rescue services, 82 women have been inducted in Kerala. The government of Kerala had created 100 posts for women in the department, while 84 were selected after the exams conducted by the Public Service Commission (PSC). Physical and mental tests were held following the exams. 

The inductees were trained for a period of six months in the government Civil Defence Academy, followed by fire station attachment training for another six months. A total of 82 women officers marched in the passing out parade. 

The 100 posts, equivalent to civil police officer (CPO) in the police service, were created in 2020. The training schedule is similar to that of men recruited in the force. Maharashtra is the state with the highest number, 114 women, in the fire and rescue services.

HUMAN-ANIMAL CONFLICT DECLARED A DISASTER 

The LDF government has declared human-animal conflicts as a state-specific disaster. The cabinet also announced a slew of measures to contain the increasing number of incidents, with three people killed in different attacks within a span of one week. 

The decision will lead to the formation of different committees from local self-government (LSG) to the state level to keep a close watch on such conflicts. The government will deploy more forest watchers close to residential areas near forests. 

The decision was made after nine lives were lost this year from elephant and wild boar attacks in the districts adjoining the Western Ghats. Recently, the number of wild boar attacks have been increasing in the state, raising concerns among the people living closer to forest areas. The Opposition parties have blamed the failure of the government for the increasing incidents of wild animal attacks.

‘ENSURE FINANCIAL RIGHTS TO KERALA’

The Action Council of State Employees and Teachers observed March 5 as a ‘black day’, accusing the Union government of blocking the state’s financial resources, including its right to borrow. The council accused the Union government of disrupting the distribution of salary and pension to employees, teachers and pensioners. 

Members of various organisations affiliated to the council held marches and held protests across tehsils in the state, urging the Union government to allow the state government to borrow or sanction the rightful financial share to the state.