Kerala Oppn to boycott CM Vijayan govt's fourth anniversary celebrations

Kochi, April 19 (IANS) Leader of Opposition (LoP), V.D. Satheesan on Saturday said the entire Opposition in Kerala will boycott the fourth anniversary celebrations of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government.

LoP Satheesan said CM Vijayan has no moral right to indulge in celebrations as Kerala is passing through one of its worst-ever financial downturns.

“What’s there to celebrate as development and growth have all stagnated beyond redemption. There is no governance in Kerala and all what’s there is deep-rooted corruption in all sectors and the inefficiencies that have plagued the state, which is reeling under its worst-ever financial crisis,”, said Satheesan.

“All the Welfare Boards are in deep crisis. The Asha workers and Anganwadi workers are in dire straits. The health sector is going through tough times as medicines are not available in hospitals. The agriculture sector is in doldrums due to falling prices of cash crops. The much-hyped benchmark price of rubber at Rs 250 per kg which was promised in the Left manifesto in 2021 has been forgotten,” added Satheesan.

“The drug mafia has taken over the state and there have been no attempts to finish off the supply chain management of drugs, which are now freely available.

“All that happens is that cases are registered against those who consume drugs and the moment they are let off after a case is registered, they start consuming drugs again,” said Satheesan.

“Hence, we will be boycotting all the functions that have been announced by the Vijayan government,” said the LoP.

Incidentally, CM Vijayan himself will lead the celebrations which are being kicked-off by him at Kasargod from Monday and will end on May 30.

During his trip to all the district headquarters as part of the fourth anniversary celebrations, he will chair district-level meetings in which a select group of 500 people will participate in each district.

The participants will include beneficiaries of various state government schemes, representatives of trade unions, representatives of youth and student outfits, personalities in the field of art, sports and culture, professionals, industry leaders, NRKs and community leaders.

The chief minister will attend the meeting in Palakkad on May 5, Alappuzha on May 6, Ernakulam on May 7, Kannur on May 9, Malappuram on May 12, Kozhikode on May 13, Thrissur on May 14, Kollam on May 22 and Thiruvananthapuram on May 23.

As part of the celebrations, regional-level assessment meetings will also be chaired by CM Vijayan and all the top officials.

--IANS

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