For the United Democratic Front (UDF), ‘unity’ of its constituent parties seems to be the buzzword, as the campaigning for the Aruvikkara by-election hits its last lap.
On Tuesday, most of its major leaders came together in a show of strength at the Vithura junction and openly challenged the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to similarly bring its ‘feuding leaders’ together on the same stage ‘at least in the last two days.’
Congress Working Committee member A.K. Antony trained his guns on Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan for his ‘double standards’ with respect to corruption.
“VS, who criticises the UDF for corruption, managed to put Balakrishna Pillai in the Central jail after a 16-year legal battle. But in the Aruvikkara campaign, he is holding hands with Mr. Pillai. His stand on corruption is that someone is a bad character as long as that person is with the UDF. The moment they come over to the LDF, they are paragons of virtue,” Mr. Antony said.
Achievements
He said that the UDF had been brave in investigating all allegations levelled against it. “We managed to close down 730 bars in one go and the women who have gathered here know its benefits. When bars are closed down like that, there will be many who hold a grudge. The Opposition is hanging on allegations levelled by such people. The Vigilance probe is over and the director has now asked even the opinion of the Attorney General under the Modi government. That is the UDF’s bravery,” he said.
Antony said that the claims that Modi government brought in the Vizhinjam port were untrue as the Chandy government had taken all necessary steps even before that.
“If he has these magical powers as claimed, he should help the rubber farmers. The State government has decided to procure one kg rubber at Rs.150 and has set aside Rs.300 crore for it. The Centre should set aside Rs.500 crore along with this,” Mr. Antony said.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that the UDF government had proved its detractors wrong over the past four years. “When we came to power with a majority of two MLAs, many asked how many days we will survive. People even joked that this government will fall if two MLAs go to the toilet. We have won two by-elections and secured 12 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. We will continue to be united to lead Kerala into the future,” he said.
KPCC President V.M. Sudheeran asked whether V.S. Achuthanandan has finished ‘studying’ the incident in Panur, where two Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] activists were killed in a bomb blast. He said that the by-election would also be a verdict against the communal politics of the Modi government.
Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty said that the contest now was for the second and third places as the UDF had already won the cup.
