Kerala’s investment pitch vs shutdown reality
In yet another proof that it is not an investor-friendly state in the country, Kerala remained shut for 24 hours beginning Wednesday night. Since the ruling CPI(M) and the opposition Congress were joint stakeholders in the all-India strike called by various trade unions against the policies pursued by the Narendra Modi government at the Center, the shutdown turned out to be a total bandh across the state. Public transport stayed off the roads, government offices remained shut as the staff preferred to enjoy the shutdown as a closed holiday, and shops and business establishments had downed the shutters.
Elamaram Kareem, leader of the CPI(M) affiliated CITU, a militant trade union, blamed the media for highlighting the sufferings undergone by the ordinary folks on Thursday because of the shutdown. “This is the price one has to pay to make life easy and happy in the future,” said Kareem, while addressing the media at Thiruvananthapuram, where he declared the “bandh” a total and major success. Elsewhere in India, the general strike evoked no response, and public life went on smoothly as usual.
The micro, small, and medium enterprises, as well as daily wage earners and small-time vendors across Kerala, had to bear the brunt of the general strike as they had to sacrifice a day’s earnings to make leaders like Kareem happy and laughing. All general strikes turn into “bandhs” (total shut down from dawn to dusk), forcing people to stay indoors. If they come out for work, the daily wage earners are sure to annoy the trade union leaders, who would not hesitate to resort to any kind of assaults.
On Wednesday itself, people, including casual laborers, had stocked enough “spirits” and beef to make the bandh day a celebration. Liquor outlets and meat stalls reported brisk sales, and long queues of tipplers were seen in front of all beverage corporation retail counters. The bandhs in Kerala have drawn global attention. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who was the home minister from 2006 to 2011, told the Legislative Assembly that the state attracted a number of tourists because of the frequent total shutdowns organized by various political parties and trade unions. “The tourists want to enjoy the total shutdowns and ambience. It is contributing to the state’s tourism sector in a big way,” Balakrishnan had said.
Over the years, the residents in the state have started demanding “people-friendly bandhs” to make life more enjoyable. “Those who call for bandhs should choose the bandh days carefully. If they opt for bandhs on Fridays or Mondays, people will get holidays for three-days and that will be like offering value-added shutdowns,” said Sukumaran Periyachur, former principal of a government higher secondary school in Kasaragod. Though Sukumaran is disgusted with the bandhs that demolish the economy and growth of the state, he says there is no way oout f the conundrum.
Kerala holds the national record for the number of general strikes held by any state in India. “Our political parties are the only ones of their kind to declare a general strike at the drop of a hat. Kerala is the lone state in the country that observes/ celebrates a hike in petroleum prices by calling for bandhs. “Now, the one-day shutdowns have given way to two-day strikes to suit the convenience of the political and trade union bosses,” says Roshi Raveendran, a young entrepreneur.
But surprisingly, the frequent bandhs and hartals have not dampened the spirit of prospective investors. Last week, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and CPI(M) State Secretary M V Govindan had some exciting announcements to make. “An investor who has heard that Kerala is the best state in the world has decided to invest Rs Three Lakh Crore in the state. A MoU will be signed shortly,” said Vijayan while inaugurating the Kerala Yatra staged by the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front as a precursor to the Assembly election to be held in two months.
Though Industries Minister P Rajeeve had declared in 2023 that the Italian-based Lamborghini Group would invest a similar amount in the state to set up high-end luxury hotels, convention centers, and plants to manufacture luxury goods like watches and jewelry, the minister has not uttered anything about it since. The scion of the Lamborghini had toured Kerala in 2023 and had met Pinarayi Vijayan and Rajeev, who claims himself as the best minister in the Pinarayi cabinet.
The investors may not have heard about the fate of four investors and entrepreneurs who committed suicide following the callous attitude of the ministers and politicians in the state in granting permission to their projects after they made big-time investments in Kerala.
The last ten years of LDF rule saw many entrepreneurs leaving Kerala shores in search of safe pastures. So all we can do is to extend a warm welcome to the big-time investors -“Welcome to Devil’s Own Hell”.
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
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