United Democratic Front (UDF) convener M.M. Hassan has accused the Pinarayi Vijayan government of worsening the woes of the people by pushing the State into an administrative impasse and misery during its Navakerala Sadas programme.
Inaugurating the ‘Vicharana Sadas’, organised by the UDF in Thiruvananthapuram Assembly constituency here on Tuesday, Mr. Hassan also alleged that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government is neck-deep in corruption with the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues looting the State for their personal benefits.
He reiterated the Congress-led coalition’s charge that the State-wide mass outreach programme was an extravagant exercise and one that depleted the State’s exchequer. “Besides splurging for the expenses during the course of the programme, the government will also be required to mobilise resources to repair the walls of 15 schools that have been knocked down to facilitate passage for the Chief Minister’s luxury bus,” he said.
Referring to the ongoing tiff between Mr. Vijayan and Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, the senior Congress leader said the duo have been engaged in shadow-boxing to divert public attention and to create a false impression of confrontation.
“The UDF had exposed the government’s double standards when it had moved a resolution in the Assembly to urge the President to recall the Governor. The government had then rejected the Opposition’s notice. The Kannur University’s decision to include the works of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) including M.S. Golwalkar in its curriculum is yet another example of the tacit understanding,” Mr. Hassan said.
Accusing the government of ignoring the woes of the farming community, he claimed that the agrarian distress has taken seven lives since the Navakerala Sadas had began. Lapses in paddy procurement and other activities have affected large sections in the State, he added.
District Congress Committee president Palode Ravi, M. Vincent, MLA, former Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar and former Speaker N. Sakthan were among those who spoke on the occasion.
