Shailaja's Magsaysay award refusal 'a collective decision of CPI(M)'

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has come under strong criticism for denying former Kerala health minister KK Shailaja the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award for 2022, which was a collective decision of the party, according to reports.

The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation had narrowed down on Shailaja for the 64th Magsaysay award for her commitment and service towards ensuring an accessible public health system and effectively leading from the front to manage the Nipah and Covid-19 outbreaks in the state.

Shailaja, who gained worldwide fame through international media for ensuring Kerala kept Covid-19 at bay in a planned and scientific manner, was informed by the Foundation towards the end of July that she had been chosen for the award, and was asked to respond in writing about her willingness to accept the award, according to a TNIE report.

Shailaja, a central committee member of the CPM, consulted the party leadership, which decided that it would not be appropriate for her to accept the award in her individual capacity as the work towards ensuring the curbing of the pandemic was a collective effort and Shailaja, as the health minister then, was only doing her duty.

The TNIE report also said that it had learnt that the CPI(M) denied Shailaja the award because it was in the name of Ramon Magsaysay, the former Phillipines president who brought down Communist guerillas.

Shailaja then intimated the Foundation about her inability to accept the award.

She later told media that the decision was a collective one by the party. What she has done as a Minister was a collective activity, not an individual thing. As far as Communist parties are concerned, whether to accept such an award or not is a decision to be taken by the party, not by any individual. she said.

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Criticism flew in from various corners, with the TNIE report calling it a second historical blunder by the CPI(M) after denying veteran leader Jyoti Basu prime ministership during a coalition formation two decades ago.

The Ramon Magsaysay award is compared with the Nobel Prize and is given to individuals and organisations for selfless service to society. The Foundation was set to announce the award in August and hold ceremonies in later months.

According to reports, Shailaja would have been the fifth Keralite and first Kerala woman to get the honour after Verghese Kurien, MS Swaminathan, BG Verghese and TN Seshan, had she accepted the honour. Vinoba Bhave, Mother Teresa and Jayaprakash Narayan are other legendary people to have been honoured with the award. It would also have been a major recognition for Kerala as well as the Pinarayi Vijayan government, but the party itself refused to take the honour.