Nothing personal against Pinarayi, says Union minister Muraleedharan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union minister V Muraleedharan said on Friday that his criticisms against Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan should not be interpreted as a personal attack on Vijayan.
“I am not making any personal attack on him. I am only acting as a corrective force. BJP won’t run away because of the setback it received in the elections. We would continue to work as a corrective force in the democratic discourse. BJP would study the reasons for the erosion of votes in certain constituencies. There is no basis for vote trading charges. If votes are lost because of trade, Pinarayi Vijayan, who is also the politburo member of his party, should clarify whether CPM had sold off all its votes,” he said.
Muraleedharan said BJP’s performance in Kazhakkoottam and Nemom, where its candidates finished second, were promising. He also alleged the involvement of jihadi elements in LDF’s election victory. He said BJP and CPM share a common reaction on West Bengal. “It’s total lawlessness there,” he said.
Muraleedharan said he has brought to the notice of the concerned central minister about Kerala chief minister’s request for allocation of more medical oxygen. “Imported oxygen is being distributed in accordance with the needs of states. There will be more interventions on this front in the coming days. Dispatch of oxygen to different states is being carried out using all available facilities, including oxygen trains. No state needs to be worried over its availability. They only need to ensure the availability of enough tankers for the movement of the consignments within the states,” he said.
According to the Union minister, Kerala government could so far set up only two of the four oxygen plants sanctioned by the Centre and expressed worry over the same. He asked why the state government was not taking steps to regulate the Covid treatment charges in private hospitals. “The state health minister claimed last July that the rates were regulated. The astronomical charges demanded by private hospitals for Covid treatment is scary,” he said.