Vijayan challenges CM Satheesan to release list of 787 personal staff appointed under LDF rule

Kannur , Leader of Opposition in the Keralam Assembly Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday denied Chief Minister V D Satheesan's claim that 787 personal staff members were appointed during the previous LDF government's tenure and challenged him to release the list of those appointed.

Responding to an allegation that UDF ministers were appointing a large number of personal staff members, Satheesan had said that 787 such staff were appointed during the LDF tenure, compared to fewer than 500 under the present government.

Replying to reporters' queries, Vijayan said that instead of making allegations, the details of the personal staff appointed should be made public.

"When they say 787, I am asking to release the list of who those people are. Isn't that what is needed?" he asked.

Vijayan said the figure cited by Satheesan was incorrect and reiterated his demand that the names be made public.

"I asked for those names to be revealed as well. Releasing those names should be enough, right? Isn't that what is required?" he asked.

Vijayan also accused UDF leaders of having a habit of "spreading factually incorrect information" and misleading the public by blaming the previous LDF government for the current electricity crisis.

"Spreading factually incorrect information has become a habit for them. A government should state facts. It should never state factually incorrect things. It should not mislead the public. Facts must be presented before the public; that is what is expected. But that is not what is happening," he said.

Vijayan said there were instances of power shortages during the LDF government's tenure due to technical issues, but the government had intervened and resolved them instead of remaining helpless.

"When such situations arose, the LDF government did not stand by helplessly with folded hands. Proper interventions were made, and we moved forward by resolving the issue. As part of those efforts, care was taken to ensure that the public faced no complaints," he said.

"Did any consumer complain? Did any children complain? There were no issues at all. A situation was maintained where electricity was supplied smoothly to everyone," Vijayan said.

He said electricity disruptions during the LDF government's tenure were only due to mechanical breakdowns, whereas the situation under the present UDF government was different.

"Even the Electricity Minister is unable to explain it. So, the government has reached a state of complete helplessness. Why did it reach this state? Isn't that a deplorable situation? This is what we need to examine," he said.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.