Thiruvananthapuram, June 24 (IANS) For nearly a decade, Kerala’s streets witnessed a rare phenomenon, the relative absence of large-scale agitations by the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the formidable youth wing of the CPI(M) known for its ability to bring thousands onto the roads at short notice.

With the Left Democratic Front firmly in power under Pinarayi Vijayan since 2016, the party’s traditional street-fighting apparatus had little reason to target the government.

But on Wednesday, barely a month after the UDF stormed to power under Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, the familiar red banners, protest marches and slogans returned across Kerala.

Across the state, the youth and student wings of the CPI(M) were in action mode and clashed with the police.

The police used water cannons, and at certain places used their lathis to chase away the protesters.

The protests erupted after a statement issued by the CPI(M) State Secretariat led by State Secretary M.V. Govindan.

The DYFI activists staged demonstrations across the state alleging corruption in the UDF government’s decision to grant tax concessions to liquor companies.

The protests marked the first coordinated statewide agitation by the CPI(M)’s youth wing since the Left’s crushing electoral defeat in May.

The significance of the mobilisation was hard to miss.

The Left’s formidable protest machinery, largely dormant while in government, appeared to have swung back into action as the opposition sought to capitalise on controversies surrounding the Satheesan government’s first budget and policy decisions.

Simultaneously, activists of the Students Federation of India (SFI) marched to the State Secretariat alleging steep fee hikes in cooperative educational institutions. In several places, tensions flared as DYFI and SFI workers allegedly vandalised publicity boards and flex hoardings carrying images of Satheesan and leaders of Congress-affiliated organisations.

Political observers view Wednesday’s protests as the opening salvo in what could evolve into an aggressive opposition campaign.

The CPI(M) has been closely scrutinising the new government’s moves since Satheesan assumed office on May 18 following the UDF’s emphatic victory over the Left.

The return of the DYFI to the streets also revives memories of some of the organisation’s more confrontational protests.

Most notable among them was the violent agitation that erupted after Enforcement Directorate officials searched a house rented by Leader of Opposition (LoP) Pinarayi Vijayan in connection with an investigation involving his daughter.

As officials left the premises, they were attacked by Left activists, leading to multiple arrests.

Most of those arrested remain behind bars. Wednesday’s demonstrations may not have reached that level of confrontation. Yet politically, they carried a message that after ten years in government, the Left has rediscovered the opposition benches and with them, the politics of the street.

–IANS

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