The Navakerala Sadas, the State government’s public outreach programme, began in Alappuzha with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan kicking off the first session in Aroor Assembly constituency on the Arayankavu Temple ground on Thursday.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Vijayan said the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) had taken an anti-Kerala stance. “The UDF is working against the interests of the State. It is not opposing the wrong policies of the Centre. While the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government is nurturing a hostile attitude towards Kerala and trying to choke the State financially, the UDF, with its actions, is trying to bail out the Centre. The situation calls for a united front, but the UDF is not ready to join the fight against the Centre’s unconstitutional acts,” the Chief Minister said.
Mr. Vijayan said extreme poverty would be wiped out from Kerala by November 2025. “The State government is working to ensure the welfare of all sections of society. The Centre, on the other hand, is trying to make the rich richer. When we look at the Global Hunger Index, India slid from 55th place in 2013 to 111th place in 2023. The wrong financial policies of the Centre are pushing the country backwards,” he said.
