With the Assembly polls months away in Kerala, the Congress that leads the opposition in the state has kicked off its election campaign with the 'Aiswarya Kerala yatra' on Monday. The rally, from the north to the south in the state, led by Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala began on Monday at Kumbala in the northernmost Kasaragod district.
Congress leader and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy who inaugurated the rally accused the Left government of making a lot of claims on its achievements in the past five years. "That is not the truth. The last five years was a waste as neither the people nor the state gained anything during the Left rule. What is the development they are claiming?," he asked.
The tenure of the incumbent Left Democratic Front (LDF) ends in June. Oommen Chandy also said that the Kannur International airport, Vizhinjam Port and Kochi metro projects were started by the previous United Democratic Front government led by him.
"The medical college allotted to Kasaragod didn't become a reality due to which people had to suffer during the pandemic. Unemployment was on the rise and there were efforts to make back door appointments" he alleged.
Chandy also slammed the Left government on the issue of young women's entry into Sabarimala. The government had implemented the 2018 September verdict of the Supreme Court that allowed women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple amid protest against the same.
Chennithala said that the LDF government won't get a second term as the people are fed up with the five-year misrule of it. He alleged that the scam-ridden government cheated the people, assuring that if the UDF is voted to power it would bring in legislation to protect the faith of Sabarimala devotees.
President of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) Mullappally Ramachandran said that the LDF government cheated the people and was a failure on all fronts. Mullappllay also said that the UDF would come to power by winning 100 of the total 140 seats. The rally will conclude in Thiruvananthapuram on February 22 after covering 140 constituencies spread over the 14 districts.
With PTI inputs