The Ernakulam district convention of the United Democratic Front (UDF) sent out a strong warning to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government against what the Opposition called a “government steeped in corruption and defying people’s will”. The district convention of the UDF also declared a series of protest action against the government as it called for the resignation of the Chief Minister.
District unit convener Shibu Thekkumpuram said the UDF would not rest until the Chief Minister stepped down. He added that protests would be organised against the government across the State. Mr. Thekkumpuram said the UDF was buoyed by the resounding victory in the Puthuppally by-election.
The district convention at the KPCC Bhavan in the city declared that the October 18 blockade of the Secretariat would see the participation of front supporters at all levels. Hibi Eden, MP, who inaugurated the convention said the Secretariat blockade should be turned into a great Opposition victory. The State government is unpopular and anti-people, he claimed in his inaugural speech.
The UDF has a lot of issues to bring to people’s mind and often some of the issues get diluted, he added.
UDF district unit convener Dominic Presentation said the front would highlight more than a dozen issues concerning people. One of the issues is corruption in cooperative banks controlled by the LDF. “If the cooperative movement is tarnished or otherwise destroyed, it will be the ordinary people who will suffer because cooperative banks are easy sources of loans for those in dire need of money from the lower strata of society,” he said.
Mr. Presentation said that the UDF wanted the State government to come clean on the alleged corruption involved in setting up AI cameras and K-Phone venture. Politicisation of the police force, collapse of law and order and the tightening grip of the underworld and mafia involved in selling intoxicating substances are major issues confronting the State, he added.
The other issues include the disruption in ration distribution, spiralling price of essentials, despair of farmers who are not paid in time for the paddy and other crops procured from them, and the possible closure of the KSRTC and Supplyco, Mr. Presentation said.
Senior UDF leaders from its 10 constituents, including P.C. Thomas of the Kerala Congress, Anwar Saddat, T.J. Vinod, K.P. Dhanapalan, K. Babu, N. Venugopal, Ludi Luiz, and Mohammed Shiaz, were among those who were present.
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