Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on December 13 (Wednesday) launched a scathing attack on the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) for its alleged attempts to make “a political opportunity” out of the situation in Sabarimala.
Addressing the media in Kottayam, the Chief Minister termed the protests staged by UDF MPs in New Delhi “unfortunate.”
“The UDF MPS, besides raising the issue in Parliament, staged a public protest. I call it unfortunate as they used Sabarimala to defame the State,” he said.
Mr. Vijayan also accused the UDF MPs of backing out at the last-minute from a proposal by the Kerala Government to meet Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to apprise her of the State’s financial situation. “This happened on two occasions. All of them agreed initially but refused to sign the memorandum to be submitted to the Minister. This has created an impression that Kerala can never stay united politically,” said Mr. Vijayan.
On Governor’s criticism
Responding to the criticism raised by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan about the ongoing Navakerala Sadas, the Chief Minister said that it was “up to the Governor to examine whether he was doing the right things.”
“A Governor is supposed to be the Constitutional head of a State. But in his case, he appears to be under pressure and is not confining himself to that position. Let the Governor himself ascertain whether the things he keeps doing are right or wrong,” said Mr. Vijayan.
‘Situation under control’
Regarding the rush at Sabarimala, the Chief Minister said “the situation was completely under control.”
The pilgrim footfall rose to 1.2 lakh per day over the past few days with over 20,000 people making their entry through spot booking every day.
“The rush surged sharply during the public holidays, while people from Telangana and Tamil Nadu, who had put off their pilgrimage due to the elections and the Chennai floods respectively, made their way en masse. This was what happened there (Sabarimala) in the previous days,” said Mr. Vijayan.
A total of 6,118 police officials have been deployed on Sabarimala duty this year. An order has been issued to deploy 50 more forest beat officers, he added.
Sabarimala master plan
According to Mr. Vijayan, the Kerala Government has allocated ₹220 crore over the last seven years towards implementation of the Sabarimala master plan.
The projects were being implemented with the approval of the High Power Committee of the Kerala High Court, he said.
