Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Rich-poor divide widening, says Oommen Chandy

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy has alleged that the gap between the rich and the poor during the LDF rule has widened.

In an article, released here for publication on the occasion of the second anniversary of the LDF government, Mr. Chandy said the number of people living below the poverty line had gone up alarmingly, crossing the 40 per cent mark. While the middle class took a beating, the 10 per cent rich had benefited from the two year LDF rule. The real estate, spirit, sand and lottery mafia and the ruling constituents performed well, while party workers and the people had to face hardships, he said.

The LDF government was fully responsible for this state of affairs. It had lost its collective responsibility and the various constituents were busy fighting one another. The government had failed to effectively intervene in tackling the people’s problems owing to the administrative deadlock caused by the conflict in the ruling coalition.

He alleged that the Agriculture Minister had sat on a Central government’s food security project for three months.

The Planning Board’s proposal that was considered by the Cabinet came as a rude shock to the CPI, which opposed it. The LDF could not find a way out of the deadlock even though the Cabinet met twice and the liaison committee met once to discuss the issue.

“How can a government that is responsible for the damage to Kuttanad crops implement a food security scheme?” he asked.

The LDF government had blocked the implementation of the farm relief recommendations of the Farmers Debt Commission, but had no qualms in implementing a Central scheme on food security, he said.

Mr. Chandy dismissed the Chief Minister’s claims about the IT sector because it was paltry when compared to the achievements of other States, including West Bengal.

The storm of opposition and agitation against computerisation to Smart City had affected the State in the long run, he said.

He also pointed out the stance of the Chief Minister in relation to the sanction of Special Economic Zone status to 18 IT companies, many of which had already moved to the neighbouring States.

He alleged that the CPI-CPI (M) clash had undermined the Munnar eviction, but it did bring down their respective masks when it was revealed that the two political parties were in possession of encroached land. The land mafia had won in Munnar, he stated.

The government was a mere spectator when party men encroached on government land in Chinnakanal, he added.

The LDF did have unity in handing over government land to private parties for a song, whether it related to the Merchinston estate or the HMT property. The Cabinet was united in approving an additional expenditure of Rs.120 crore to revive the Kerala State Transport Project and the Capital city development project.

“The most painful action of the LDF government was sabotage of the pro-poor schemes formulated and implemented by the UDF government. This included the health insurance, subsidised rice distribution and Ashraya schemes.

The government’s failure to find an end to the admissions and fee structure in self-financing professional institutions has affected the common man the most. It had also undermined the education sector through its attempts to reform the Kerala Education Rules, Syllabus, and introduction of the single-window system.

Law and order has become a casualty, with political violence rearing its head once again in Kannur and Nadapuram. “This government has lost tolerance and compassion. Each internal feud is pushing the State backwards, with people falling deeper into poverty. Even if the Education Minister were to put liberal marks, will this Cabinet get pass marks?” he wondered.

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