Scared? Stay indoors, UDF tells Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition leader V D Satheesan has said the chief minister should stay indoors if he is scared of the people and the protests. Police are holding the people hostage along the chief minister's travel route, he said.
While speaking at the concluding session of the day-and-night strike organized by the UDF before Secretariat, the opposition leader said the UDF will continue its protests in the streets and if the chief minister is not ready to face it then he should stay indoors. The people of the state cannot be put under house arrest for the chief minister to move around in the state.
The UDF will continue its protest till all the anti-people recommendations in the state budget are withdrawn. The government is wringing money out of the common man to cover up its failures in tax collection and is now running away from them due to fear. "The government, which gives the social security pension with one hand, is fleecing the common man with the other. We cannot even call it pick-pocketing. The people are ripped off their pockets. Now, the common man is seeing the distorted face of the state government," he said.
"It is to cover up the failure in mobilizing their resources that Rs 4,000-crore tax burden has been imposed on the common man. Now, it has also come out that the state has failed in getting the timely GST compensation from the Centre. The state has also lapsed the fund which has to be received from the IGST pool," he added.
The day-and-night protest organized by the UDF across the state before the district collectorates and Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram concluded on Tuesday morning. The protest was organized against the tax proposals made in the state budget.
The UDF and KPCC will meet again to chart out further agitation plan in the coming days to keep the issue live. The leaderships of the front and the party have decided to continue the agitation to exert pressure on the government to withdraw the tax proposals.