Kerala: LDF fails to cash in on 'Emerging' rift in UDF

Kochi: Even as there is an evident rift within the UDF and the government following the ‘Emerging Kerala’ investors’ meet, the Opposition has failed to cash in on the opportunity. Though there were some hue and cry over the meet, none of the Opposition parties could come up with solid criticisms. Neither the Opposition parties nor the social groups could come up with a convincing and effective criticism against the meet, pointed out political and Left thinker analyst Sebastian Paul.

“There was a general vagueness surrounding ‘Emerging Kerala’, leading from non-concrete proposals and the government’s dilly-dallying stand,” Paul said. “There was a lot of hype over the meet due to which it was projected that whoever opposes the meet is anti-development. To an extent, that submerged the oppositions and criticisms. There was also a lack of proper understanding about the meet. In fact, proper assessment and evaluation should have been carried out after the meet. That the opposition could not do,” he said.

Though there was a slow start in protesting, the CPI will soon take up the matter and organise region-wise issue-specific protests, said CPI state secretary Panniyan Raveendran. “The party will take up each project and unearth the hidden agenda behind each of them,” he said. “Projects like Wagamon and Nelliampathy obviously have a hidden agenda. The attempt is to destroy the agricultural land and kill our natural resources. We are organising a people’s convention in Wagamon during the first week of October. Similarly, we will be taking up issues at the district-level,” he said.

A rift within the government and the UDF was obvious from the manner the meet was conducted and concluded. Though there were projects from various departments, only a few ministers participated in the detailed discussion sessions. Though the Chief Minister had announced proposals worth Rs 40,000 crore, he had to swallow his own words during the media briefing, following an intervention by Minister P K Kunhalikkutty. Though the government claims to have received major proposals, there were no attempts by social groups or opposition parties to find out whether these will actually materialise.