THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala has said that state funding of elections would help reduce the dependence on money power. Inaugurating a seminar on criminalisation of politics, organised by the Institute of Social Research and Action (ISRA) here on Wednesday, he said that politicians from the poor financial background were finding it difficult to contest even in local body elections. “Once they depend on money power, there starts corruption,” he said. He said that they would be forced to compromise with money power and criminal gangs once they started collecting funds for meeting the election expenses. Presiding over the meeting, Home Minister Thriuvanchoor Radhakrishnan said that criminals should be treated like criminals irrespective of their political backing. He also opined that those who conspire and persuade others into criminal activities also should be booked. He said that there were instances of political parties providing benami accused in many cases. That trend has to be ended, he said. He also pointed out that besides the judicial courts in our system, there were courts run by political parties. Former Minister Benoy Viswam said that Stalin and Pol Pot were not the faces of Communism. Referring to the revelations of CPM Idukki district secretary M M Mani, he said that the CPM Politburo had already disapproved of and condemned the statements.RAW former director Hormis Tharakan, former chief secretary C P Nair, Bhasurendra Babu, V Madhusoodhanan Nair and Kanayi Kunhiraman spoke. ISRA secretary Pazhakkulam Madhu welcomed the gathering. Its director Ranjith Balan proposed the vote of thanks.
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