Kerala polls: Union govt ‘granting mercy killing’ to laws beneficial to people, says Mani

KOCHI: Union govt is ‘granting mercy killing' to all laws that were highly beneficial to people, said Kerala Congress (Mani) chairman Jose K Mani on Wednesday. Speaking at a news conference as part of Vikasana Munnetta Jadha at Kothamangalam, Mani said Union govt was unnecessarily interfering in the daily operations of Parliament, turning the chair into a mere puppet. Transparency was removed from funds, including PM CARES fund, he alleged. "Union govt imposed restrictions on Right to Information Act. Even questions from MPs in Parliament were blocked. The employment guarantee scheme and the right to education were dismantled," he said. As elections are approaching, Union govt is attempting to incite communal riots for their gain, alleged Mani. "Prime Minister hasn't responded to the AI video on Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's official social media page. In the video, Sarma was allegedly seen shooting at visuals of Muslims. Manipur riots also began in a similar manner. Only after one-and-a-half years did Prime Minister say anything about the Manipur issue," Mani said."Opposition leader V D Satheesan, who is on Puthu Yuga Yatra, hasn't disclosed what UDF would do if it came to power, and everything related to that is a suspense. In the Sabarimala gold smuggling case, the probe was reaching them (UDF), and they were now speaking against the special investigation team," he said.Mani said the LDF march was raising issues that needed to be addressed for Kerala's future development.