Kerala CM goes all out to tom-tom his achievements but the ground reality is very different
Political commentator Jayashankar terms the comments by Jayarajan and Balan as reflections of the simmering groups in the CPI-M. “Both the leaders are upset with Vijayan and his new son-in-law Mohammed Riyas for sidelining them by denying them tickets in the 2021 assembly election. Jayarajan and Balan were frontrunners for the post of member of the polit bureau which fell vacant following the demise of Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the former party secretary, Vijayan favoured M V Govindan, a sidekick for decades, while Jayarajan and Balan had to eat humble pie,” said Jayashankar.
The public snubbing given by Vijayan to K K Shylaja, former health minister, and her husband Bhaskaran during the Sadass has upset the women activists in the State. The flooding of the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram because of last week’s heavy downpour has proved that the State administration is incapable of resolving minor issues like water logging and cleaning of drainages in the city, once described as a clean and neat town,
Because of the Nava Kerala Sadass, no ministers or government secretaries were available at Kalamassery where a stampede at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) claimed the lives of four students who were attending a musical night late Saturday evening. After the 2018 floods which devastated the State (caused by the sudden and simultaneous opening of the shutters of all dams), Pinarayi Vijayan undertook an official junket with family, friends and close officials to all European countries to study how floods and landslides are managed by them. It is more than five years since Vijayan and his entourage travelled across Europe but to date, no action has been taken to control floods or waterlogging. The experience at Thiruvananthapuram is an eye-opener that Kerala is lightyears away from ensuring the safety and welfare of its people.
Fortunately for the CPI-M and Vijayan, there is a Government at the Centre that could be blamed for any mishaps and disasters happening in the State. But that comfort came down on Saturday as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave a piece of her mind to the State Government’s allegation that the Centre was not releasing funds to Kerala. “Tell me the details of the funds which the Centre has not released to you. Whatever you have asked for was sanctioned immediately. The Kerala Government instead of making unsubstantiated allegations should come forward and tell us details of the funds which have not been released by the Centre,” said the Union Finance Minister. Luckily for Vijayan, none of the ministers of his cabinet were present while Sitharaman thundered from the stage (They were all busy singing peans to Karana Bhoothan, as Vijayan prefers to be addressed by his servile).
The Chief Minister and his acolytes have failed to notice the statements by Balan and Jayarajan who have a lot of grievances to settle with the former. The Opposition Congress is not in a position to enjoy the “guerilla war” in CPI-M as the Grand Old Party is faced with charges of malpractice in the organizational elections held recently. The allegation by Congress leaders is that a group owing allegiance to K C Venugopal manipulated the polls with fake identity cards. Some of the identity cards used by party members had Tamil superstar Ajit as a voter. Well, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The Youth Congress President Rahul Mankkoottathil was being interrogated by the Crime Branch of the Kerala Police when reports last came.
(The writer is a special correspondent with the Pioneer; views are personal)
Concluded.
Vijayan’s public relations tour may end in a fiasco
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27.11.2023
Kerala CM goes all out to tom-tom his achievements but the ground reality is very different
Political commentator Jayashankar terms the comments by Jayarajan and Balan as reflections of the simmering groups in the CPI-M. “Both the leaders are upset with Vijayan and his new son-in-law Mohammed Riyas for sidelining them by denying them tickets in the 2021 assembly election. Jayarajan and Balan were frontrunners for the post of member of the polit bureau which fell vacant following the demise of Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the former party secretary, Vijayan favoured M V Govindan, a sidekick for decades, while Jayarajan and Balan had to eat humble pie,” said Jayashankar.
The public snubbing given by Vijayan to K K Shylaja, former health minister, and her husband Bhaskaran during the Sadass has upset the women activists in the State. The flooding of the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram because of last week’s........
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