THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Appreciating and thanking the expatriates’ contribution towards building Kerala, the state it is, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the fifth edition of the Loka Kerala Sabha should be seen as a pointer towards ‘Nava Keralam’.
“Expatriates are a community who are concerned about Kerala, and imbibe the essence of our state. Today, they are not only raising their complaints about this land, but play a key role in putting forward suggestions towards the development of the state,” the chief minister said in the inaugural ceremony of the event at the Nishagandhi Stadium here on Thursday.
Mentioning that Kerala has become a land about which they can be proud of, he noted that an event like this, which brings members of the diaspora together in their motherland, is a unique feat of Kerala.
In what can be seen as a criticism of the opposition, the chief minister said that some people are not willing to express their dedication towards the land by being present even before the expatriates. “Narrow-minded people, at times, boycott some programmes.
Instead of putting forward creative suggestions and pointing out our lapses, to which we would naturally respond, is this childish attitude the correct stand seasoned politicians should take?” the chief minister said. Notably, UDF has boycotted the event, terming it extravaganza by the government.
Taking a dig at the RSS, he said that even the strongest communal forces in the state cannot make an issue here because of potential strict action. “Some communal forces believe that this state has their strongest force in the country. But they cannot even raise their head, because if they make a communal issue, stringent action will be taken,” the CM said.
Adding a political layer to this, Pinarayi also said that the government will neither depend on any such force nor give them any special priority. “Our land has its own speciality, which, coupled with the government’s stand, made Kerala an island within the country-- a land where people can eat, dress and worship according to their wish,” he said.
The CM also listed notable development feats of the government, including the Vizhinjam port and the Kovalam -Bekkal waterway development. Notably, he also criticised the High-Speed Rail project, proposed by E Sreedharan, stating that the Union Railway Ministry is unaware of the same. “When I met the Railway Minister, it was clear that such a project did not even exist in their mind,” the CM said. Adding a political layer to the critique, he also reiterated that Sreedharan contested as a BJP candidate in the previous assembly elections.
The programme was also attended by ministers K Rajan, Roshy Augustine, K Krishnankutty, G R Anil, V Sivankutty, A K Saseendran, NORKS ROOTS resident vice-chairman P Sreeramakrishnan, secretary T V Anupama, businessmen Yusuffali M A, B Ravi Pillai and Gokulam Gopalan, among others.