THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Terming the ongoing Nipahcontainment efforts “ineffective”, Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan said the LDF would not politicise the issue as the UDF had done in the past.
“The vigilance needed to tackle an outbreak is unfortunately missing on the part of the government. Nevertheless, we extend our full support. The real problem is the lack of coordination among the authorities,” he said in a press conference at the CPM headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
Pointing out that health ministers used to camp on the ground and directly assess the situation during outbreaks under the LDF government, Pinarayi said the war room has now become a place that politicians avoid.
Criticising the transfer of DHS Dr Reena K J, Pinarayi said the minister’s claim that she was moved for not cooperating with the system was unconvincing.
“It is widely understood that the transfer was prompted by her refusal to support the new government’s attempts to dismantle the transparent transfer system currently in place. We know how transfers were handled a decade ago and how lakhs of rupees changed hands in the process,” he alleged.
Pinarayi also questioned whether the chief minister was aware of the decision to transfer the DHS. Pointing to the contradictory statements made by the health minister and the district medical officer on cholera cases in Palakkad, he said the public was left confused about whom to believe.
Devaswom pleader row: LoP questions docu access, seeks probe
Criticising the appointment of K B Pradeep – former counsel of Smart Creations in the Sabarimala gold theft case – as special government pleader of the devaswom department as ‘hurried’, Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan has demanded a probe into the documents accessed by the him. “The issue does not end with his resignation. There should be a probe into whether he had any access to critical documents during the few hours he was in charge (as the special government pleader) and appropriate action should be taken,” Pinarayi said.