The UDF on Wednesday crossed swords with the government over the ‘unilateral’ decision of the Cabinet to ‘appropriate a month's salary’ from State employees to augment the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) ‘purportedly’ to tide over the financial crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said: “The Chief Minister daily counsels people to be spartan during the lockdown. He wants to confiscate the salary of government staff. However, the Chief Minister has no qualms in sanctioning ₹2 crore at this juncture to hire a helicopter for VIP travel.” He said the government should create a separate account in the treasury for depositing contributions from the public. KPCC president Mullapally Ramachandran insisted that the government take the wages of only those employees who had given a letter of consent.
