Thiruvananthapuram: It is not as if the whole of Sangh Parivar in the state is exuberant about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Top leaders of Hindu Aikya Vedi, one of the biggest feeder organisations of the Sangh Parivar, are disillusioned with the Centre’s environment policy. This disappointment, sources said, could reflect in the way a small but critical section of the ‘parivar’ votes.
The Vedi, though its leaders publicly canvas votes for NDA candidates, has informally told its members that they could choose their candidates this election according to their conscience. Top Vedi leaders were part of the group of environmentalists who had evolved a ‘green agenda’ for the state. The many ills that the 'agenda' opposes like rampant mining and neglect of tribals read like an anti-Modi manifesto.
In fact, the state unit of Hindu Aikya Vedi has come out openly against the Centre’s mining policy. According to the Vedi, Modi’s policies are destroying the forests. Recently, Vedi leaders have widely circulated union environment minister Prakash Javadekar’s admission that the Centre’s mining policy had affected wi-ldlife. “Due to mining activities in forests, some impact on the wildlife habitats is imminent,” the minister said on May 9, in a reply given to independent Rajya Sabha MP Parimal Nathwani.
Environmentalists in the ‘parivar’ were aghast at the Centre’s move to appoint a High Level Committee to review forest and environment laws in the country right after it assumed power, and subsequently accept its recommendations. The HLC calls for a re-definition of ‘forests’, introduces the concept of ‘utmost good faith’ that seems wildly favourable to corporates, wants forest clearance processes to be pared down and subtly weaves in the theme of economic development in forest areas.
“In this context, we have asked our members to measure the environmental performance of a party against the 'green agenda' and vote accordingly,” said M N Jayachandran, Hindu Aikya Vedi leader. He said that the UDF fared the worst. So, is CPM the only option left? “We have left it to the conscience of our members,” Jayachandran said, abruptly ending the conversation.
