Kerala Assembly | UDF slams Governor’s ‘perfunctory’ reading of policy statement for the next fiscal

Leader of the Opposition in Kerala Assembly V.D. Satheesan. (file)
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has slammed Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan for making a “mockery” of the Kerala Legislative Assembly by restricting his policy address to a brief and “perfunctory” reading of the concluding paragraph.

Leader of the Opposition V.D .Satheesan said Mr. Khan’s “dismissive” attitude to the House on January 25 (Thursday) was tantamount to contempt and an egregious breach of parliamentary privilege.

He said Mr. Khan’s frosty relationship with the government had come to the fore in the Assembly, and the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) had brought matters to a head.

Mr. Satheesan said the policy speech lacked substance and merely paid lip service to fixing a broken State.

Perhaps, he said, Mr. Khan had helped the government by refusing to elaborate on the LDF government’s “hollow and hypocritical” legislative agenda for the next fiscal year.

‘Imaginary foes’

“The government and the Governor are imaginary foes. In reality, both share a symbiotic relationship. Their public display of mutual hostility is merely shadowboxing to hoodwink the public”, said Mr. Satheesan.

He termed the policy statement for the next fiscal “a shabby bag of empty promises.”

“The government has no cash to honour its social welfare and development commitments,” he said.

Mr. Satheesan said the Life Mission scheme to provide housing for the roofless has ground to a halt due to a lack of funds. Supplyco shelves were devoid of subsidised basic provisions. It owed vendors more than ₹4,000 crore. Hence, there were no takers for tenders floated by the public utility.

The government’s market intervention programme to mitigate seller inflation has failed dismally. He said the treasury was bone-dry. The social welfare pension backlog was mounting.

He said the policy statement broadcasts “a crow of triumph” about the Navakerala Sadas and Keraaleeyam spectacles conjured up at significant cost to the public exchequer when the State was staring down the abyss of economic ruin. “The government has provided no accounts despite several RTI pleas by the Opposition,” said Mr. Satheesan.

He said students were fleeing Kerala for opportunities abroad. The government has no clue how to stop the brain drain.

‘CM afraid of Central investigations’

Mr. Satheesan said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s “visceral fear of Central investigations into the financial shenanigans of his office and family reflected strongly in the policy statement.”

“Despite the LDF’s sabre-rattling, there is no meaningful criticism of the Centre in the policy statement. Mr. Vijayan has also dialled down the government’s much-touted forthcoming protest against the Centre’s trespasses on fiscal federalism to a muted low-key demonstration in New Delhi,” Mr. Satheesan said.

“It’s an empty policy statement authored by a cash-strapped, blind, clueless government. It is an exercise in futility that has no impact on the lives of ordinary people,” Mr. Satheesan said.

An affront: Kunhalikutty

Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) legislator and deputy Opposition leader P.K. Kunhalikutty said the Governor fleeted in and out of the House in less than a minute.

“The Governor did not begin the address by saying ‘my government’. Mr. Khan ignored the Opposition and treasury benches and did not even acknowledge our existence with a glance. His conduct is an affront to the Assembly and the public. Such hostility is common to Governors of non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled States,” said Mr. Kunhalikutty.