Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday declared in the assembly that the state was free of extreme poverty.
Vijayan made the announcement in a special session of the House convened on the occasion of Kerala ‘Piravi’ or formation day.
The Congress-led UDF opposition termed this claim a “fraud” and boycotted the session in protest.
As the special Assembly session commenced, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan said that the CM’s statement via rule 300 was “pure fraud” and in “contempt” of House rules.
So, we cannot join in that and are completely boycotting the session,” Satheesan said. The opposition then walked out of the House shouting slogans that the claim was a “fraud” and that it was “shameful”.
We only say what we can implement. We have implemented what we had said. That is our reply to the opposition leader,” he said.
The CM said that with the eradication of extreme poverty from the state, Kerala, “as a laboratory of welfare initiatives”, was presenting a new model to the nation that other states can emulate and benefit from.
He said that the project was successfully completed due to public participation and the coordinated efforts of the various government departments and local bodies.
Vijayan further said that measures like providing welfare pension to about 62 lakh families, houses to about 4.70 lakh homeless families, establishing about 6,000 public health centers, free health insurance to 43 lakh families, and land to four lakh families, “have helped to significantly reduce the extent and intensity of extreme poverty in Kerala”.
He said that this achievement has proved that if people step up and move forward with a sense of purpose, nothing is impossible.
“But this is not the end, it is a new beginning. We will ensure that extreme poverty does not resurface. Vigilant actions are now required to sustain the extreme poverty-free status.
He said that the state government has made careful and participatory interventions to improve the living standards of families living in extreme poverty and to ensure social justice and equality. The CM said that with the eradication of extreme poverty from the state, it has made progress in the Sustainable Development Index envisioned by the United Nations.
He said that earlier progressive governments’ continued implementation of welfare programs despite economic hardships significantly helped reduce the population below the poverty line in Kerala.
“The process of eradicating extreme poverty is a continuation of the steps taken earlier to implement the Universal Public Distribution System and to eradicate landlessness and homelessness.” he said.Vijayan said that though the goal was tough to achieve, it was done in a time-bound manner with public participation.
He also said that the government declaration was a “fraud” as a woman, who lived alone in a shed in Thiruvananthapuram district, reportedly died of starvation.
“Was she not in the list of extremely poor?” he asked and termed the declaration as a “public relations” exercise with the upcoming local body polls in mind.
He said that another reason for boycotting the House was the ongoing opposition protest demanding the resignation of state Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan and dissolution of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) over the Sabarimala missing gold issue.
