Retired Indian Administrative Service officer of Gujarat cadre, Christy Fernandez, who is the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate for the Ernakulam Lok Sabha constituency, on Friday launched his poll campaign by launching a scathing attack on his former boss and BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi by saying that the post-Godhra situation was quite disturbing.
Mr. Fernandez, who had come under attack from the Left for going soft on Mr. Modi and his style of governance, said in an interaction with a cross section of voters at the Town Hall here that there was a huge difference between Gujarat of the seventies where he began his civil service and the Gujarat of post-Godhra situation. He said he was in his home State Kerala as chairman of the Coir Board when the communal carnage took place in Gujarat. Mr Fernandez said he was pained on his return to the cadre State to see the scars of the violence and the prevailing communal divide. An eerie atmosphere welcomed him there, said Mr Fernandez.
Claiming he had over 18 years of association with Ernakulam as a resident, he turned emotional while detailing his humble origins in a coastal village of Kollam. “It was hard work and determination that took me to IAS. Now, I am entering politics with the same vigour to serve the public,” he said. Mr Fernandez also assured the gathering that he would not leave Ernakulam whatever be the outcome of the election. Terming himself as a villager who passed through severe hardships, Mr Fernandez said he believed in decentralised and inclusive growth involving people of all walks of life.
A number of voters from the constituency faced him with questions on his development vision and the dreams about ensuring growth in Ernakulam.
