THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the Pala Bishop shouldn't have made the 'narcotic jihad' remark, Opposition leader V D Satheesan criticised the Chief Minister and asked him to come clean on the issue. He was talking to reporters after inaugurating INTUC's dharna in front of the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission office here on Wednesday.
Alleging that the LDF government has not taken any steps to address the 'narcotic jihad' row, he said that while cooperation minister V N Vasavan maintained that it's a closed chapter, Pinarayi has opened it once again.
After calling on the Pala Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt at Bishop House, Vasavan had said that it's a "closed chapter". But almost a week later, Pinarayi raked up the issue on Tuesday. He said on Tuesday that a man of the Pala Bishop's stature shouldn't have made such statements.
"Pinarayi has been showing indecisiveness in the narcotic jihad statement. The closed chapter as per Vasavan has been revived by Pinarayi. Instead of coming out with statements, Pinarayi should ensure that it's implemented. The Opposition has been repeatedly demanding that the state government convene an all-party meet and invite community organisations and leaders to end the controversy," said Satheesan.
He exuded confidence that the controversy can be put to rest, provided the stakeholders sit across a table and discuss it. Pinarayi should take the initiative, he said.
Reacting to a query on schools reopening from November 1 onwards, Satheesan urged the state government to ensure all facilities at schools so that parents' concerns are addressed.