CM pitches for continuity of LDF rule

On fourth anniversary of government, Pinarayi recounts how recurrent obstacles were overcome

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday appeared to make a pitch for continuity of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) rule.

On the fourth anniversary of his government, Mr. Vijayan said the LDF had lived up to its manifesto despite unprecedented adversities having beset the State recurrently. A string of catastrophes had hit the State since the LDF came to power in 2016 — the Ockhi Cyclone in 2017, the Nipah outbreak and back-to-back floods in 2018 and 2019. Kerala braved the calamities, but it got no breathing space.

The COVID-19 pandemic struck before Kerala could get back on its feet. It crippled the State’s tottering economy, upended life, hobbled manufacturing, destroyed retail trade and scorched the State’s conventional sources of revenue.

Polls as scheduled

Mr. Vijayan, at a televised news conference, said the people had approved the State’s handling of the crises. Now, the government had nudged the State in the direction of a rapid recovery.

He said the LDF faced no unfavourable situation on the ground. It could easily hold its own at the hustings. The government would hold local body elections as per schedule in October. The LDF was under no compulsion to engineer the defection of any member of the UDF coalition.

Several non-Congress leaders in the Opposition had praised the State’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis.

However, it did not necessarily entail that they would gravitate towards the LDF. Kerala Congress (Mani) leader P. J. Joseph, for one, often praised the government. Congress refused to accept the political reality and was on a lonely fault-finding mission.

‘Must live with threat’

Kerala could not remain shut down in perpetuity. It had to live with the threat of epidemic and rebuild itself. The pandemic has thrown open new opportunities.

The State could become a magnet for global investment, given its high quality of life index.

The inclination to decentralise manufacturing could prove to be an economic windfall for Kerala.

The State had made considerable strides in infrastructure development, modernising health care and public education.

Blames Centre

The government had prioritised building houses for the homeless, expanding the welfare pension safety net and guaranteeing food security by universalising the public distribution system. Mr. Vijayan accused the Central government of having created fissures in the federal system. It often pointedly denied States their due, he said.