Kerala’s ruling CPI(M) and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday, August 12, launched a broadside against the BJP-ruled Union government accusing it of targeting the Left government using the Governor and the central agencies. Chief Minister Vijayan, addressing a programme at Dhanuvachapuram, said that the attempts to torpedo the state government’s development projects, funded by KIIFB, will not be accepted by the people of the state.
Similar views were expressed by CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who met the media after a state committee meeting, alleging that the Union government has started using the Governor and the central agencies like the ED to topple the Left government in Kerala. Balakrishnan said any such efforts would be strongly resisted with support of the people.
The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) is the primary agency of the state government for financing large and critical infrastructure projects. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had recently issued a notice to former state finance minister TM Thomas Isaac in connection with its probe into alleged violations in the financial dealings of KIIFB.
“KIIFB helps us in developing infrastructure, development in various sectors including education, healthcare among others. However, there are some people who want to torpedo our development plans. They are happy if our development plans fail. This hampers the development prospects of the state,” Vijayan said during the inauguration of a new block at the Dhanuvachapuram International ITI. He said the government’s plan for development is not just for the present generation.
“This generation will go away after a stipulated time. But the state will remain forever. Our responsibility is to hand over the state to the next generation in a better manner. We need to provide better educational infrastructure for all the students. Here, we strive to provide international-level education to all students in the state,” he said.
He said the education for a student should not be based on the parents’ financial stability.
“It’s the responsibility of the state. We are fulfilling such responsibilities. But the attempts to torpedo such development aspects will not be accepted by the people. The position of those who oppose such development will remain in the dustbins of history,” he added.
The Left government in Kerala is a beacon of hope for the working class across the nation, Balakrishnan claimed.
“This is the only government that can organise protests and lead agitations against the corporate lobbies in the country. In these circumstances, those with vested interests are trying to overthrow this Left government which has proved to be an alternative to the BJP and the Congress,” Balakrishnan told the media.
He said the party will do everything to protect the lone Left government in the country and will organise mass protests against such acts of the Union government.
“They have started using the Governor against the state government. The media is deliberately ignoring the achievements of the Left government. So, we will take steps to reach the people with the development aspects of the government. It was the development activities of the Left government which resulted in a second term for the Left front,” he said.
Balakrishnan criticised the Governor after he refused to repromulgate the ordinances due to which several of them stand to lapse. The state cabinet has decided to convene a session of the assembly from August 22 to enact the legislation that would replace the ordinances.
The CPI(M) party secretary said the opposition was engaged in all sorts of activities to prevent the development activities of the Left government.
“A peculiar kind of attack is happening on the Chief Minister. Attempts are made to destroy the activities of the KIIFB. If KIIFB is destroyed, the development prospects of the state will be affected. Now, we all know why the Enforcement Directorate issued notice to Thomas Isaac. The Union government is deliberately interfering in such matters and the Kerala High Court has taken a clear stand in that issue. That was a setback to the ED,” Balakrishnan said.
Isaac and other Left MLAs have recently moved the High Court saying the ED was attempting to conduct a fishing and roving enquiry into the activities of Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and such enquiries have been time and again deprecated by the apex court.
The ED had served a notice to the senior Marxist leader last month, seeking his appearance before it on July 19. He, however, did not appear before the probe agency, saying he had to attend classes at a party-run institute in the state capital.
Isaac had termed the ED notice to him as a ‘political move’ by the BJP government at the Union government, alleging it was misusing all investigation agencies for its political gains.
The second notice seeking his appearance was sent by ED in the first week of August. Isaac had said before the last Assembly election, that the ED, the CAG and even the Income Tax Department was after KIIFB.
