5 months ago
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Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has said Kerala has slipped into a terrible fiscal crisis, forcing ample numbers of youths to migrate retired of the State, and warned that if the contiguous concern continues, Kerala could “turn into an old-age location wrong 5 years.”
Speaking to reporters successful Kasaragod up of UDF’s Puthuyuga Yatra connected Friday (February 6, 2026), which is acceptable to statesman from Kumbala, Mr. Satheesan launched a crisp onslaught connected the State government, stating that Kerala had ne'er witnessed specified heavy economical distress successful the past. He alleged that the authorities was “surviving connected monolithic borrowings”, the wellness assemblage was “on a ventilator” and agriculture was successful “a authorities of collapse.”
He said the 30-day yatra would reason successful Thiruvananthapuram connected March 7, with astir 75% of the travel dedicated to treatment connected “what the aboriginal of Kerala” should look like. “Where ever the contiguous authorities has failed, the UDF has alternate plans,” helium said, adding that the yatra would spot a wide imaginativeness of “future Kerala” earlier the people.
“While maladministration and governance failures would beryllium powerfully criticised, the travel would beryllium differed from accepted protestation marches and would see dream-like declarations ne'er seen before,” helium said, adding that ocular documents and exhibitions would besides beryllium portion of the campaign.
Reiterating the UDF’s “commitment to secularism”, Mr. Satheesan said determination would beryllium nary compromise connected this and that “communalism would beryllium firmly opposed.”
On Sabarimala golden row
He said the Sabarimala golden contented would beryllium “a large taxable of discussion”, saying that determination were nationalist concerns implicit “attempts to adjacent the Sabarimala golden smuggling lawsuit without evidence.” He claimed that the probe squad had not adjacent collected basal worldly grounds and warned that accused persons released connected bail could “destroy” evidence, raising superior concerns astir the probe.
Mr. Satheesan said that if UDF convenor Adoor Prakash was to beryllium questioned, the Chief Minister should besides beryllium questioned, portion calling for the resignation of the Devaswom Minister.
He alleged that the CPI(M) was “granting parole indiscriminately” to convicts successful transgression cases, citing that a T.P. Chandrasekaran execution lawsuit convict had received parole for astir 1,000 days. “Releasing governmental lawsuit convicts during the predetermination play would airs a sedate risk,” helium said.
Accusing the CPI(M) of “sinking to the level of misappropriating martyrs’ funds”, helium alleged “double standards successful protecting erstwhile TDB president Padmakumar, portion removing V. Kunhikrishnan.”
On Jamaat support
Mr. Satheesan said the UDF would judge enactment from Jaamat-e-Islami, noting that the organisation had intelligibly stated it did not enactment the thought of a theocratic state. He added that “when theocratic ideas were promoted earlier, they had sided with the CPI(M).”
He said “everyone knew who would beryllium strengthened” if the Indian Union Muslim League weakened, and the UDF’s effort was to “hold everyone together” to forestall that scenario. He besides said tha disapproval by NSS and SNDP leaders were “personal successful nature” and not directed against the Congress oregon the UDF, adding that if correction was needed, these could beryllium made.
Expressing assurance regarding the upcoming Assembly polls, Mr. Satheesan said Kerala would “have a Congress Chief Minister successful the adjacent 5 years” and that “team UDF volition instrumentality to powerfulness with implicit 100 seats.”
He clarified that seat-sharing talks wrong the UDF were yet to beryllium completed and that nary campaigner had begun campaigning.
Stating that “a caller epoch is opening and the communist regularisation was coming to an end”, helium said the Puthuyuga Yatra was “not aimed astatine the elites but astatine mean radical struggling to marque ends meet.”
