By IANS
Kannur (Kerala) : Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s criticism of the Left Front government in Kerala drew sharp reactions Saturday from Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leaders, including the chief minister.
During her visit to Kerala Friday, Gandhi had criticised the state government for its policies in the education sector and its attitude towards various communities, judiciary and media.
She had said that the Left parties’ should not think that they could act in a “brazen manner” in Kerala because they were providing support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre.
Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan issued a statement in Thiruvananthapuram saying that Sonia’s comments were immature. He said that if she was realistic, she should ask the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) to withdraw from the statewide shutdown on Feb 19.
The UDF has called for a shutdown to protest price rise in the state.
“It is the policies of the central government that has resulted in the price rise in the state,” the chief minister asserted.
“Kerala is not a place where anybody can act in a brazen manner. Sonia Gandhi must be aware about the happenings in Kerala. But she is making misleading statements for political ends,” CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said at a press meet here.
Kerala Devaswom Minister G. Sudhakaran also lashed out at the Congress president.
“Instead of advising a change of government here, she should think of how her government will complete the term at the Centre. She knows nothing about the country. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is waiting to capture power at the Centre and she is trying to decimate the Marxist party here,” he told reporters in Kasargod in north Kerala.