In what can only be touted as an extremely rare situation, the Congress, the Left Democratic Front and the Bharatiya Janata Party have actually found something to agree on. While things of consequence such as development or political reform are still a distant dream, the trio have come together to denounce 37-year-old RTI activist VV Vijitha as a “public nuisance”.
The social activist in question has been trying to save Mookkunnimala, a hill near her village Pallichal in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram district, from the quarry mafia.
Mookkunnimala used to be the livelihood for many villagers. They did small scale quarrying for their living. But, for the past six years, mafias with the help of local political leaders here have acquired almost all the parts of the hill.
– Vijitha
Public Nuisance Tag
Ironically, while Vijitha has been fighting against granite quarrying in Mookkunnimala for years, almost under the shroud of anonymity, it is this derogatory tag that has truly brought her into the limelight. People in the state came to know of her when the Pallichal panchayat committee declared her a “public nuisance” and asked the State Information Commission to issue a statewide notice.
Peeved at the series of RTI or Right to Information queries filed by Vijitha (she had rushed 35 RTI pleas to the panchayat office in a year) the Pallichal village panchayat had passed a resolution against her.
On Saturday, the principal secretary to the local self-government institutions scrapped the “public nuisance” resolution and asked the secretary of the Pallichal panchayat to appear before him and give an explanation.
Unified Politics
The 22-member panchayat council consists of members from the three political parties – BJP, Congress and LDF. According to The Hindu, this resolution is the first of its kind to be passed by any panchayat in Kerala against a woman.
Recently, the Kerala High Court quashed the collector’s order as he failed to respond despite repeated queries as to what provisions of the law were invoked to order the ban on her.
“Many political pressures are behind it,” asserts Vijitha. “Powerful politicians including our present speaker N Sakthan backs these mafia in our village.”
The activist also claims that the threats she faces are numerous.
Many had tried to harass me physically as I am into protest. Many times some of their goondas had warned me to stop doing this or they would kill me. Many fake cases has been filed against me.
Other RTI activists in the state have also criticised the panchayat’s decision. “It is utter nonsense and the panchayat committee has no right to declare her as public nuisance,” insists DB Binu, another RTI activist. “Everyone is scared of the RTI because it exposes their corruption.”
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