Hundreds of Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition workers laid siege to the Kerala government Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on October 18 accusing the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government of corruption, nepotism and financial maladministration.
The protest threw life out of gear in the city and rendered the morning rush hour commute frustrating for urbanites. The traffic restrictions raised their hackles, and the police had an onerous job convincing families on two-wheelers and cars to take windingly long detours to their daily destinations.
Large parts of the arterial M.G. Road that bisect the State capital remained inaccessible to pedestrians.
The UDF workers mobbed three gates of the Secretariat by 6 a.m.
The police opened the Cantonment gate to allow Ministers and government employees into the Secretariat. Nevertheless, they insisted on identification cards and disallowed visitors.
Top UDF leaders joined the picket line with the protesters. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader P.K. Kunhalikutty addressed them.
The rally that drew hundreds of Congress workers from across the State marked the commencement of the UDF’s campaign against the ruling government in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The mammoth protest also signalled the start of a season of UDF-sponsored anti-government agitations, with an eye on swinging public opinion in the Opposition’s favour in the parliamentary polls.
UDF leaders sought to cast Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as the “authoritarian leader” of a corruption-ridden regime. They spotlighted the corruption accusations surrounding Mr. Vijayan’s family and office.
The UDF singled out Mr. Vijayan’s upcoming mass contact programme and the administration’s week-long Keraleeyam gala in November for criticism.
Pre-poll propaganda: Sudhakaran
Mr. Sudhakaran termed the programmes thinly veiled pre-election propaganda at taxpayers’ expense. He said the government sought to wring dry the “bankrupt” treasury to bankroll the LDF’s publicity spin.
He alleged that hatchet men entrusted with subverting the police to cater to the CPI(M)‘s political interest populated Mr. Vijayan’s office. Dissenters, critics, Opposition leaders and independent journalists were their targets, he said.
Mr. Satheesan accused the government of compelling the public to pick up the tab for its financial profligacy. The government splurged money on a helicopter for Mr. Vijayan and expensive cars and decked-up residences for Ministers when the State was reeling under a cost-of-living crisis, he said.
He alleged that the government had upended the family budget by slapping an extra cess on fuel, jacking up building tax and raising water and power charges.
Mr. Satheesan said the government failed to mitigate seller inflation during Onam. It had no money to intervene in the market through Supplyco.
“Even basic essentials were at a premium at government-subsidised markets and provision stores”, Mr. Satheesan said.
He said that paddy farmers and Kerala State Road Transport (KSRTC) employees “starved” during Onam when the government splurged on celebrations, adding that the Kerala State Farmers’ Debt Relief Commission has become defunct due to the lack of government funding.
Mr. Satheesan held the CPI(M) responsible for beggaring thousands of ordinary members of party-controlled cooperative banks. CPI(M) leaders used party-controlled cooperative banks as a front for laundering their ill-gotten wealth, he said.
Mr. Satheesan accused the government of slack financial administration. He said the CPI(M) had rendered Kerala a haven for tax dodgers.
He said Mr. Vijayan’s visit to the Netherlands to learn and replicate the vaunted Dutch model of flood mitigation had yet to yield tangible benefit for taxpayers, pointing out that Thiruvananthapuram residents were hit hard by flooding following heavy rain recently. Due to pending bills, contractors were unwilling to undertake civic works, including desilting canals and drains, he added.
UDF leaders said Opposition workers would “publicly try” the CPI(M) and LDF government by holding mock trials in 140 Assembly constituencies in November.
