KOZHIKODE: Buoyed by the recognition its intervention in the Jishnu Pranoy case got, the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) is exploring the possibility of expanding its base. It sees a large chunk of left-minded people disillusioned with the rightist deviation of the traditional left parties in Kerala. “SUCI (C) cannot tap the situation. That’s not the idea. We will actively pursue peoples’ struggles along with like-minded parties or groups,” says SUCI state secretariat member Dr V. Venugopal. “The fact in Jishnu’s case was that SUCI was able to heed wails of Mahija. She realised SUCI as the party which upholds real left policies. We didn’t go after her.”
The party had set its priorities in education and labour. “A broad-based movement is being planned against self-financing colleges and crass commercialization of education. The party has already established good rapport among parents defaulted on education loan,” said M. Shajarkhan, another leader.
The SUCI sees the pro-right policies of CPM in disguise helping BJP and SDPI pushing the dissatisfied cadres to the fundamentalist camps. It feels the government cheated Mahija as even she did not get a copy of the agreement it made with her. It started a month-long "democratic protection campaign" demanding justice for Jishnu on April 20. At the national level, it is part of the left united front which includes CPM, CPI, RSP, Forward Bloc and CPIML.
