THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi cold-shouldered the all party delegation from the state,Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Centre’s one-size-fits-all approach would not suit Kerala’s conditions.
In a detailed article to the media, the Chief Minister said Kerala needs projects that would help the state to take forward its achievements. The memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister raised important issues of an urgent nature. Our expectation was a favourable and Constitutional response to the demands. But the PM’s response did not reflect the state’s public interest.
The delegation was ready to give any kind of explanation on any of the issues mentioned in the memorandum. But the Prime Minister did not facilitate a detailed discussion. To raise the foodgrain allocation was an important demand of the state. Self-sufficiency in food production is impossible for the state considering its peculiar conditions.
There was an assurance that the Centre would give necessary foodgrain to the state. The statutory rationing system was formed in the state on the basis of this assurance.
As per the direction of the Centre, the state shifted its focus to cash crops, helping it contribute to the country’s forex. Kerala has 45 lakh families in the non-priority sector. This is 56 per cent of the total population. The state gets 33,384 tonnes of foodgrain a month. If this is equally divided among these families, one person would get just 1.75 kg rice. How will this ensure food security?
The Prime Minister did not agree with the state’s demand to raise allocation. Also, he did not take a favourable stand on the fresh issues in the implementation of the National Food Security Act.
The coach factory was first proposed by the Centre in the 1980s. But at that time it was shifted to Punjab for pacifying the Khalistan agitators.
In 2008-09, the then railway minister again announced the project. The state later handed over 239 acres for the factory and a Union Minister had laid foundation stone for the project. But the factory announced in 2008-09 was shifted to Raebareli. Now the Centre has announced there won’t be a project in Kerala which is sheer injustice.
The Centre should give due prominence to the Angamaly-Sabari rail project. He flayed the move to implement the project with partial assistance of the Centre.
Another major demand was Central assistance for the monsoon relief. The Prime Minister responded favourably to the state’s request for a Central team to assess the damage.