Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has denied the allegation raised by his predecessor Oommen Chandy that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has splurged ₹2.5 crore of public money for propaganda during the time of national adversity.
Mr. Vijayan said here on Thursday that the government had ordered State-owned presses to print pamphlets highlighting the achievements of his government on its fourth anniversary. “Mr. Chandy too had done the same thing. It is usual for governments to inform the electorate about their doings. I do not see any wrongdoing in that,” he said.
Mr. Chandy had in a statement pointed out the "dichotomy" between Mr. Vijayan's claim that he would not celebrate the government's fourth anniversary to save on money and the hidden efforts now underway to burnish the image of the "failed" administration at taxpayers expense by producing crores of rupees worth of propaganda material. He said the government had tasked CPI(M) cadres to reach the brochures to individual households.
Mr. Chandy slammed the LDF government as one with no achievements to claim. Mr Vijayan had piggybacked on the initiatives of the previous UDF government.
Flays Muraleedharan
Mr. Vijayan refused to respond to the purportedly sceptical comments on the State's continent strategy by Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan.
He said the LDF government had earned the praise of the Union Ministry of Health and the ICMR for its success in keeping the pandemic at bay. “I am not taking any names, but some persons in responsible positions seem intent on attempting to tarnish the government at every turn and corner. Kerala has not misrepresented infection figures or pandemic death toll,” he said.
