Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has batted for continuity of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) rule in the State to take forward the welfare schemes initiated by the CPI(M)-led government.
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Inaugurating the Youth Summit on Future Kerala organised by the AKG Centre for Research and Studies here on Sunday, Mr. Vijayan said that Left governments had contributed immensely towards the State’s development, despite having been in power less times than Congress-led coalitions.
“While the E.M.S. Namboodiripad-led government that came to power in 1957 laid the foundation for progress, the next Left government that emerged in 1967 also adopted several pro-people measures. Right-wing governments that ruled for longer phases until 1982 have strived to undo such welfare measures, but such efforts were thwarted by mass movements,” he said.
While the State began to alternate among the UDF and LDF governments since 1982, the latter had had to spend half of its terms in reinstating the welfare measures that were reversed by the previous Congress-led governments. This had costed the State immensely, Mr. Vijayan said.
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The Chief Minister’s appeal for another term in power came shortly after he and LDF convener (and CPI(M) acting State secretary) A. Vijayaraghavan jointly launched the coalition’s tagline ‘Urappanu LDF’ (Yes, for sure it’s the LDF) for its campaign.
Mr. Vijayan reiterated the government’s aspiration to attain a knowledge society and digital economy. The State has sowed the seeds for its goal by declaring Internet as a fundamental right and launching the K-Fon project that will link the people of Kerala with the global information highway.
He stressed the need to target sweeping changes in the higher education sector to exploit the State’s potential of a knowledge hub. A knowledge economy fund was being instituted to fuel such goals, he said.
Delivering the keynote address, Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac advocated greater academic autonomy for educational institutions while restructuring the higher education sector. He called for steps to foster innovations that were vital to drive the economy ahead.
State Planning Board member K.N. Harilal, Kerala State Higher Education Council vice chairman P.M. Rajan Gurukkal and reception committee general convener V. Sivadasan spoke at the inaugural session of the summit.