THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Unfazed by the unilateral decision of the Kerala Congress (M) to part ways,the Congress led United Democratic Front in Kerala has rolled out its first open stir against the new LDF government's anti-people policies in front of the secretariat today. 41 MLA's remaining with the UDF sat in a half day dharna,declaring that they can no longer remain mute when the Left government is making lives of the people miserable.
''Various policies of the government is pushing the people and the Opposition to take to the path of agitations. The Left government has come to power after giving much hope to the people but it was dashed .Much of the image of the government has been lost in just two months' time'',said Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala,inaugurating the dharna.
''Pinarayi Vijayan is compelling people to launch agitations.The UDF was not in favour of launching stirs within a short span of time after a new government took over. The normal course of the UDF while in the Opposition is to wait for six months.But it has become impossible''Ramesh said.'' People are reeling under the soaring prices of essential commodities.
The shelves of Maveli stores have become hollow. The burden was loaded further by imposing fresh taxes totaling Rs 805 crores. People are also in dire straits owing to heavy hike in registration fees for partition of family properties. The government has no time to address such issues.
The first thing which the government thought to do it rightly was to silence V S Achuthanandan by awarding a plum post in the Administrative Reforms Commission. After bleeding crores of money from the exchequer as expenditure,the history of such commissions was always one of failure'', he blamed.
Ramesh ridiculed chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan's weekly dinner diplomacy. ''His main job now is to patch up the rift between ministers in his government.''The law and order situation in the state is broken now.The state has never seen a DGP pleading apologies with folded hands in front of the people.The state has become a paradise of theives. May be it is because of Pinarayi Vijayan's rule,even Romanian nationals have targeted Kerala'', he said.
He charged that files are piling up in the secretariat after the LDF government came to power.'' It will be cleared only if orders came from the AKG centre,which is functioning as a parallel secretariat'', he charged.
Opposition deputy leader P K Kunjalikutty,who delivered the keynote address,said that the base of UDF is as strong as ever.''The LDF government should correct its anti-people policies.Like in the past five years,the UDF will not choke the LDF government.But people's issues have to be solved'',he reminded.
Former chief minister Oommen Chandy called upon the people to see to it that not even a single partition deed is registered until the hiked registration fee and stamp duty is withdrawn. KPCC president V M Sudheeran said that Pinarayi Vijayan government has set a record in coming up with a slew of anti-people policies within such a short time.
UDF leaders' K P A Majeed,Shibu Baby John,C P John and others also joined the legislators in the dharna. Though a few YC activists came in a jatha raising slogans against K M Mani,none among the speakers spoke even a word against the recent developments in the UDF.