Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday asked Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to shed his coterie of highly paid and officially pampered advisers to economise on public funds.
In an open letter to Mr. Vijayan, Mr. Chennithala said the government’s bid to cut expenditure should ideally, as in the case of charity, ‘begin at home.’
The government should whittle down the Cabinet rank posts the government had created needlessly to accommodate front ruling politicians instead of putting the COVID-19 pandemic precipitated financial burden solely on teachers and government employees.
Mr. Vijayan should disband the Administrative Reforms Commission. He should return the helicopter it had hired at a steep rent from an airline company. The government had allocated ₹700 crore to build the Renaissance Complex. It should re-route the money to build health infrastructure to combat the pandemic.
The government had splurged on top lawyers to fend off probes by Central agencies into political murders in which ruling front politicians were accused. It should stop the practice.
Mr. Chennithala said the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) officials, who draw outsize salaries, should take a cut. The government should put a brake on conferences and stop Ministers from going on foreign junkets at State expense.
The Chief Minister’s propaganda cell cost the exchequer ₹4.32 crore and more. The government should not contract private agencies when it could use the Information and Public Relations Department to disseminate reports. It should stop acquiring expensive vehicles.
Mr. Vijayan said at his daily news conference that the financial situation required cutbacks. However, it would not be in the format desired by Mr. Chennithala.
