Thiruvananthapuram : A state-wide family survey proposed by Communist Party of India (Marxist) that heads Kerala’s opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF), with the larger objective of retaining the party’s support base in the state has sparked a controversy.
The survey has evoked protests from various quarters as it seeks to gather personal details of the people like their religious faith, caste, income, political affiliation, jobs and involvement in the social media. The party has sent questionnaires containing 30 questions to the party’s branch committees. The survey will cover 60 lakh families in the state. Though the CPI(M) claims that it is part of the party’s efforts to study the changes in the socio-economic condition of the people with the mind of a social scientist, many believe it is politically motivated.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president V M Sudheeran said that there was no need for the CPI(M) to gather the data for studying the socio-economic status of the people as this is already available in the public domain. He said that the state had detailed data on all in this regard.
Sudheeran believes that the survey is intended to make use of the communal cards for electoral gains. He has warned that it would divide the people on communal lines. If the CPI (M) is threatened by the communal games being played by Bharatiya Janata Party, it could have joined hands with secular forces to check the former’s advance.
The Congress chief feels the survey would also encroach on the privacy of individuals that the party often purports to protect. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the second largest constituent of the UDF, has aired similar concern.
Party general secretary K P A Majeed said the survey would infringe on the privacy of the people. He termed it as a violation of the human rights of the people.
