THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The youth in Kerala are like seething volcanoes that can erupt anytime due to lack of sufficient opportunities in the state, senior Congress leader A K Antony has said. The former chief minister asked the LDF government whether it has any programmes that offer hope to lakhs of youth who are “getting paid less than the migrant labourers”.
Antony was speaking at the G Karthikeyan commemoration meeting, organised by the G Karthikeyan Foundation, at KPCC headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday, on the eve of the late Congress leaders’ 10th death anniversary.
“The state government should be prudent enough to foresee how the youth of the state would be impacted by the policy changes being effected by the new US president, the onslaught of artificial intelligence and the rising popular sentiment against migration,” the leader said.
Stating that startups alone will not address the issue, Antony demanded that the government should bring out new ideas for the youngsters. He reminded that during his tenure as chief minister, many nursing colleges were sanctioned in the state.
The decision was instrumental in ensuring job opportunities, both within the country and abroad, to lakhs of youth, he added. Referring to the ongoing stir of ASHA workers, Antony said the LDF government should shun its stance that only people affiliated to the Left parties have the right to agitate.
During the event, he remembered Karthikeyan as a leader who was instrumental in nurturing second-rung leaders in the Congress during his time.
CPI leader C Divakaran who spoke on the occasion said some politicians serve only their interests and those of their party-men once they get elected. He urged the government to find and destroy the source of drugs that were destroying the young generation.
KPCC president K Sudhakaran remembered Karthikeyan as a corrective force within the party who was always accessible to the common man. CWC member Ramesh Chennithala said Karthikeyan never deviated from the values of Congress even while expressing his dissent openly and fearlessly. .