Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan said that the letter sent by the Governor on June 10, 2021, requesting a favorable decision to be taken by the BJP leaders in the Kodakara pipeline case, has now been released by the government after storing it for one and a half years.
Why did you hide the letter for so long? All the time the letter was kept hidden, there was a back and forth between the Governor and the Chief Minister. As part of that, a conspiracy was made to settle the Kodakara pipeline case. The opposition has raised this matter in the assembly and outside. In return for the exemption of leaders including the BJP state president in the pipeline case, investigations by central agencies into the gold smuggling and Life Mission bribery cases were settled without reaching the chief minister or ministers. It should be clarified that the governor acted as an intermediary for both. What is to be known now is that the letter given by the Chief Minister requesting to be saved from the gold debt is being released by the Governor. The problems that happened when the close ones were far away are going on now. He said that the letter that has come out now proves the opposition’s allegation that the two were together for so long.
The CPM mouthpiece had reported that 9 people, including the brother of Transport Minister Antony Raju, had terrorist links in connection with the Vizhinjam strike. Antony Raju said that his brother will answer the opposition’s question related to this. The minister’s brother responded by saying that he is learning from Chief Minister Modi and that the leftist leaders who made him a terrorist should apologize. He said that it should be clarified whether Antony Raju, the Transport Minister in Pinarayi’s cabinet, agrees with this opinion expressed by his brother.
Just as Modi accused extremism behind the farmers’ strikes, the state government is also criticizing the Vizhinjam strike. By filing a case against the archbishop and the auxiliary bishop, the government tried to provoke the protesters and make the case filed by Adani a riot when it reached the court. There was a conspiracy between Adani Port and the Chief Minister to make the strike a violent strike. The conspiracy was hatched to get a court verdict in favor of Adani. Four ministers accused the strike of terrorist links. On what evidence was the allegation based? If there is such an intelligence report, it should be ready to be released. It is a common trait of dictators to feel that whoever is struggling is against them. Pinarayi Vijayan also has the same disease as Modi. He openly stated that the government is trying to isolate the protestors and their community from others.
If the Chief Minister had taken the initiative, the strike could have ended in two hours. Those living in cement godowns should be shifted to rented houses and a permanent place should be found for them. An expert committee should be constituted to study the coastal erosion due to the construction of the port, including the representatives of the Samara Samiti. This is what the strike committee is demanding. It is the responsibility of the government to rehabilitate the victims of development. A project of Rs 475 crore was formulated during the Oommen Chandy government’s tenure after realizing in advance that there is a possibility of coastal erosion and houses being washed away if the port comes. 350 crore has been earmarked for the rehabilitation of those who lost their homes. The order in this regard was also issued by the then UDF government. Why is the government not implementing this plan? The opposition has begged with folded hands in the assembly to implement the rehabilitation plan. Still, the Chief Minister is not ready to talk to the protesters. Struggle is not against development. Has the government, which says that it has accepted all the demands of the strikers, issued any order in this regard? He pointed out that the struggle will end only when rehabilitation and education is done.
UDF has not said that the port project should be stopped. UDF came up with the project. Solidarity was declared for the strike by demanding the rehabilitation of the poor who have been lying in the cement warehouse for four years. Problems like these were there even when the project started. All that was resolved by the government of that day holding constant discussions. It was the CPM that said no to the port then. Desabhimani wrote the news that it was piracy. Those who are alleged to have a real estate deal worth six thousand crores are now becoming the apostles of development. It is said that if there is an obstacle to development, anyone will face it. The man who protested against the GAIL pipeline as an underground bomb is a member of this cabinet. It is such a Chief Minister who says that he will build the port as he came up with the GAIL pipeline. He said that today there is a strange situation where those who struggled then have become advocates of development.