THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Opposition has decided to launch political protests against the LDF government highlighting corruption cases like the purchase of PPE kits and the gold smuggling case. The UDF coordination meeting held at Cantonment House in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday also decided to support social activist Daya Bai’s indefinite fast.
Congress state president K Sudhakaran’s controversial comment during an interview given to TNIE on the differences between Malabar and South leaders were mentioned by RSP leader Shibu Baby John in a lighter vein at the meeting. He said the statements of Opposition Leader V D Satheesan and Sudhakaran had been creating an impact on the political and social milieu earlier.
Quoting a colloquial saying, he said, however, Sudhakaran has been making public statements of late that would only take “the UDF to the south” (meaning the body being taken for cremation), which led leaders to laugh out heartily.
The UDF leadership has been keen on taking advantage of the Thrikkakara by-election win and also the wave created by the success of Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi. This led the front leaders to come to the conclusion that there is an anti-incumbency feeling against the LDF government and the best way to highlight it is to kick off a political campaign and protests against it.
A senior UDF leader told TNIE that the LDF government’s failure should be highlighted by the UDF. “On one hand, social ills like human sacrifice is happening in the state and, on the other, the CPM is talking about the renaissance movement. The LDF government which has been ruling the state for the last seven years has only pulled the people backward. So, the moment has come to unleash a political fight as well as a series of political protests against the government,” he said.
After the meeting, UDF convener M M Hassan told reporters that the hardships of the people have gone up day by day due to the price hike of essential goods. He urged the state government to provide rice to the people at subsidised rate as its price has shot up by Rs 10 per kilogram in a week.