THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday refused to entertain the criticism levelled by Leftist sympathiser Cherian Philip, who criticised the state government and said it had betrayed people’s trust. In a Facebook post, Cherian asked what about Netherlands model that the government had proposed for flood-prone areas in the state after the back-to-back floods in 2019.
“The state has been taking steps to prevent natural calamities and subsequent impacts. I don’t know under what circumstances did Cherian Philip made those remarks,” Pinarayi said. Asked whether there was any rift between Philip and the Left camp, the chief minister said the former Congress leader has been cooperating with Left in a good manner.
The chief minister also backed PWD minister Mohamed Riyas, who had asked MLAs not to accompany contractors to his office. “That is the stand taken by the party and there are no two different opinions in the party over this issue,” he said. “When I was the electricity minister during the 1996 period, one MLA had come to my office with a contractor and I had warned him then and told him that it was not right,” he said.