THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan slammed central agencies, that are probing multiple cases, and the comptroller and auditor general for its remarks against Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), saying that the agencies should not align with political opponents who are worried about Kerala’s developmental strides under the LDF government.
Addressing a news conference on Monday, Vijayan said that when LDF government assumed office, the public had much expectations when it came to developmental initiatives though the state lacked enough resources. At that juncture, government decided to scale up and utilize KIIFB, which had used by previous governments.
He said that KIIFB has now given clearance to projects worth Rs 55,000 crore that has brought happiness to Keralites. But it is worrying a section with a weird mindset as it feels that such development is being undertaken by LDF government. But, under no circumstance will the government allow anyone to trounce KIIFB, he said.
Vijayan mocked Swadeshi Jagran Manch activist Ranjith Karthikeyan – who filed petition against KIIFB in the high court – and KPCC secretary Mathew Kuzhalnadan – who is appearing for the petitioner – saying that they shared a good rapport in attacking KIIFB.
He challenged opposition leaders and asked if they are of the opinion that all projects envisaged under KIIFB must be scrapped. If they oppose it, they should be ready to admit that none of the KIIFB projects are required in their constituencies.
Vijayan said that all the agencies under the Centre, except one, is probing multiple cases, and they are also targeting the officials in such a way that they are scared to take their work forward. He said that people had given a mandate to the government when it took over the governance in 2016 and government will fulfil the same at any cost. However, the chief minister refused to comment on M Sivasankar’s statement in court that investigating agencies are forcing him to name political targets in cases he has been implicated.
However, Vijayan thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his help to complete the GAIL pipeline project from Kochi to Mangaluru. He said that Modi’s intervention helped complete the project when it was stuck. He announced that the laying of 510km pipeline under the project from Kochi to Mangaluru has been completed. He said that works along 470km were completed by the LDF government and once fully functional, project will yield a revenue of Rs 500 to Rs 720 crore.