THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPM state secretariat which met on Friday alleged that the UDF is making concerted efforts to malign the LDF government and its ministers just months ahead of the assembly election.
In the secretariat, the leadership concluded that the UDF's strategy was hatched by its political strategist Sunil Kanogolu. According to the leaders, there are two areas the UDF aimed at -- General Education, Higher Education and the Health sectors -- as these are the indicators which marked the state’s achievements compared to other states.
“The state intelligence has also submitted a report to the Home department that the opposition is to target these two sectors in view of the coming elections,” a CPM leader told TNIE.
Given the militant stand taken by the opposition against the Health Minister, the party has decided to defend Veena George at any cost. The party has also asked the leaders to present before the public the comparison between the achievements obtained at the time of the last UDF government and the Pinarayi Vijayan government 2.
Speaking to the reporters, CPM state secretary MV Govindan dismissed the opposition's demand for the resignation of the health minister. “It is not going to happen,” he said.
“The opposition leader’s allegation that the rescue work was halted was not true. The minister said to the media that she was being informed about the incident. The opposition is using a tragedy for their political gain. While the last UDF government had spent Rs 603 crore for the health sector, the present LDF government in the last four years have spent Rs 1424.46 crore,” he said.
Minister V N Vasavan in another press conference has also alleged that though in 2013 at the time of the last UDF government the public works department had submitted a report about the danger the building posed, it was not considered. It is the 2016 LDF government which decided to build a new building.
“Without holding the inauguration, we have decided to shift the patients from the old block to the newly finished hospital building. The demand for the minister's resignation is political. This is to defame the Kottayam medical college,” he said.