THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Nava Kerala Sadas helped awaken the people of Kerala, exposing the hostile Central government, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday.
“The huge cut in Central funds is hampering the state’s development prospects. The Congress and the UDF are not concerned about this. But the people supported the Nava Kerala Sadas. The people are awakened. All the meetings had huge participation and the Cabinet’s journey was well received. We thank the people for their support,” he said at the valedictory of the Sadas at Vattiyoorkvau here on Saturday.
The CM severely criticised the Opposition for its alleged anti-development stand. They are not concerned over the Centre’s neglect towards the state. Instead, they are making every effort to put the state government on the defensive thereby supporting the Centre’s stand. The Nava Kerala Sadas was to explain to the people how the Centre is putting the state in trouble.
“We are not getting our due share of funds from the Centre. It will affect the different development projects planned by the state. We faced a drastic cut in the funds from the Centre. There was a shortage of Rs 1,07,500 crore in seven years.
The cut is illegal, anti-constitutional, an encroachment on the assembly’s privileges and a challenge to the principles of federalism. The state also approached the SC for a remedy,” he said. The CM said the Opposition rejected the state government’s requests to put up a joint fight for ascertaining the state’s rights. “A united stand would have helped the cause. We said we were ready for a discussion to settle differences. But they said they were not ready,” he said.
The CM listed various high-profile development projects planned by the state. It will be difficult for the state to spare huge funds for these projects in the backdrop of the dip in central funding. An amount of Rs 1,515 crore is required for the first digital science park.
The state also plans to establish three other similar parks. Huge money is required to complete the work of the Kochi-Bangalore industrial corridor. Of the total requirement of 2,152 acres of land, 1,142 acres were acquired. The state also plans to establish a Gift City, Rs 850 crore is required for land acquisition alone. Hill highway and coastal highway require Rs 10,000 crore; Rs 3,411 crore is needed for the Wayanad tunnel project.
Capital turns into war zone
The capital city witnessed a slew of protests on Saturday against the state government as the 36-day-long Nava Kerala Sadas programme drew to a close. Despite being a high-security zone, the protest reached even the Chief Minister’s office in the Secretariat after activists of Revolutionary Youth Front (RYF), the youth organisation of the RSP, entered the Secretariat with black flags and went near the CM’s office to fix them on the door.
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However, the police acted swiftly and removed the protesters. They were arrested and taken to the Cantonment police station later. The police have registered a case against the protesters. The incident took place around 4 pm. As many as seven activists, including RYF state president Ullas Kovoor, were part of the protest. They also raised slogans against the chief minister.
According to the police, the protesters entered the Secretariat after securing entry passes. The protesters could enter the security area with the passes. They have been booked under Criminal Trespass ( Section 447) and Sections 144 and 147 ( Rioting) of the Indian Penal Code, police said.
Yuva Morcha protest at Poojappura
Meanwhile, Yuva Morcha activists took out a protest towards the Poojappura ground against the state government using the ground for ‘political purposes.’ The ground houses ‘Saraswati mandapam’ which is used for performing Navaratri pooja rituals. The protest was held at 3.30 pm as the Nava Kerala Sadas in Nemom assembly constituency was scheduled to be held on the ground at 4 pm. However, the police stopped them by erecting barricades. Though the activists tried to jump the barricades, the police used water cannons twice to disperse them. They were later arrested and taken to the Poojappura police station.
Cases against Congress leaders
The Museum police have registered cases against Congress state president K Sudhakaran, Opposition leader V D Satheesan, MPs Kodikunnil Suresh, Shashi Tharoor, Adoor Prakash, K Muraleedharan and Jebi Mather, and MLAs Ramesh Chennithala, Anvar Sadath and Chandy Oommen in connection with the protest march towards the DGP office. Sudhakaran has been named the first accused and Satheesan is, the second accused.
The leaders have been booked under Sections 143, 147, 148, 149, 188, 283 and 356 of the Indian Penal Code, which pertain to various offences including unlawful assembly, rioting, and voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from discharging his duty, the police said. The charges are
non-bailable.