THRISSUR : Questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sudden show of interest towards the state’s development ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan challenged the Union government to name at least one BJP-led state which has performed better than Kerala.
Addressing the media at the CPM district office in Thrissur on Tuesday, Pinarayi said Kerala’s social development index is on par with that of the western countries. “Kerala stood first in the country in a sustainable development index survey by NITI Aayog. The state will achieve its goal to eliminate extreme poverty by November 2025. Take any health and social indices, Kerala has been performing far better than other states. What kind of development is the BJP planning to bring to Kerala when it couldn’t achieve anything in the last 10 years,” asked Pinarayi.
The CM also slammed the BJP-led Union government’s stand which is allegedly destroying the financial federalism in the country. “While the media portrayed the Supreme Court directive to consider Kerala’s plea through a five-member division bench as a setback to the state government, it is actually a giant leap for us. The directive shows that the top court finds our complaints against the Centre valid,” he said.
Pinarayi lashed out at the BJP for its “divisive governance” in the country and said such moves will not yield results in Kerala.
When asked about the allegations raised by the Congress about a CPM-BJP deal in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur, Pinarayi said his party will never carry out such ‘politically cheap’ tricks. “It is the Congress that entered into terms with communal factions, not the CPM,” he said.
To a question regarding the freezing of the CPM district committee’s account in Thrissur, he replied that CPM is the only party which received appreciation from the Income Tax department for the proper filing of its transactions. However, he said, neither the ED nor the BJP’s political stunt would help Suresh Gopi win the seat in Thrissur. “There is an LDF wave across the state and it would be reflected in the upcoming elections,” he said.