THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The opposition UDF is to boycott the swearing-in ceremony of CPI(M) leader EP Jayarajan which is to take place at 10 am on Tuesday. This was announced by the leader of opposition Ramesh Chennithala while interacting with media persons after a meeting of the UDF district chairmen and secretaries.
Ramesh said that the CPI(M) and LDF bringing Jayarajan back to the cabinet is totally unethical and unscrupulous. He said that vigilance absolving him of corruption case does not mean that he has got a clean chit and CPI(M) had made him resign on corruption charges.
He alleged that Jacob Thomas was removed from the post of Vigilance director as he had not given clean chit to Jayarajan and instead he had warned both Jayarajan and PK Sreemathi.
Ramesh Chennithala lashed out at the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for having sat a whole day in the AKG centre in CPI(M) secretariat to finalise Jayarajan’s reentry to the cabinet while the state was ravaging in flood and related destructions.
The leader of opposition lashed out at the CPI and said that when UDF had included a Chief Whip, CPI had come out stating that this is an unnecessary expenditure to the exchequer and the party has itself now committed for a Chief Whip post. He said that this shows the double standards of the party and that it will go to any extent for power.
Ramesh also said that there were 25 cabinet rank when UDF was in power and now with LDF also this is the same. In addition to 20 ministers, 1 speaker, 1 deputy speaker, now 1 Chief Whip and Achuthanandan as the administrative reforms committee chairman, and R Balakrishna Pillai as Forward caste commission chairman. This means that LDF which had come to power with high talks of austerity and cutting costs is also having the same cabinet numbers.
He reminisced the words of state law minister AK Balan who had in the legislative assembly stated that when the number of ministers had come down to 19,the state exchequer will be richer by 7.5 crores. Ramesh wondered as to what the reaction of the minister is as now in addition to a 20th minister a Chief Whip with the same salary and perks is being posted. He also said that the left front is cheating the people of the state.
Ramesh lashed out at the treatment meted out to social security pensioners and said that while there were 36.7lakh pensioners when UDF was in power ,the LDF government has removed 10 lakh of these after surveys conducted by party functionaries without any proper verification. He said that UDF cannot accept this kind of actions from the government and called upon to immediately reinstate at the earlier position.
Ramesh Chennithala also said that the fraction of the JD(U) which has not gone with the Left will be associating closely with the UDF in agitations and public programmes. He said that the UDF will be conducting protest dharnas in all the 140 constituencies on September 15 and from September 1-10 there will be leadership meet in all the 20 parliament constituencies, He also said that the UDF, student, youth, farmers, SC/ST front state level meetings will be held on August 29 and 30 at Cantonment house.