Thiruvananthapuram: The ruling CPM's youth wing, DYFI , has extended an invitation to Shashi Tharoor,MP, for its upcoming Startup Festival, which will take place in Thiruvananthapuram on March 1 and 2.
DYFI national president A A Rahim and state secretary V K Sanoj visited Tharoor at his residence in Delhi to personally deliver the invitation. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is set to inaugurate the event.
However, Tharoor is likely to skip the festival due to prior commitments during that period. He has expressed his best wishes to the organisers.
The DYFI invitation becomes important in light of the controversy sparked by Shashi Tharoor's praise for the CPM-led LDF government's achievements in the startup sector.
While the leadership of the state Congress distanced itself from Tharoor's comments, labelling them as "personal views," the LDF used his remarks as a badge of honour for its government.
Amid the controversy, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan provided comparative figures for the Startup sector during the tenures of the LDF and Congress-led UDF governments. He noted that the number of startups during the Congress government led by Oommen Chandy was only 300, while it increased to 6,200 under the eight-year rule of the LDF.
He claimed that his government created approximately 60,000 jobs and attracted investments amounting to Rs 5,800 crore.
According to the chief minister, when he took office in 2016, the total available business space was just 15,000 square feet. Currently, Kerala boasts over 1 million square feet of incubation space.
Pinaryi Vijayan stated that his government has set a target of reaching 15,000 startups by 2026, which is expected to create 1 lakh job opportunities.
Political observers indicate that the Left intends to take advantage of favourable conditions. The praise for the performance of the LDF government, especially coming from someone as prominent as Tharoor, is being fully utilised by the CPM and its allies.