Nava Kerala survey mere campaign tool for CPM, says Congress leader Cherian Philip

T'puram: Senior Congress leader Cherian Philip accused the state govt of sponsoring a ‘politically motivated' door-to-door survey on the heels of the LDF's setback in the local body elections. The state govt is conducting the Nava Kerala survey by spending Rs 20 crore which serves merely as a political campaign tool for CPM targeting the assembly elections, said Philip in a statement. "CPM's local units selected a volunteer force of 85,000 people to conduct the survey. This public outreach programme of CPM, which lagged in the local elections, is being conducted at the govt's expense," he said. Philip claimed that leaflets exaggerating the govt's developmental achievements are being distributed to every household. If an objective survey collecting public opinion was conducted, it would serve as an indictment of the developmental collapse in Kerala. Announcements like extreme poverty-free Kerala and complete digital literacy are based on fake survey reports, he added. "The second Pinarayi Vijayan-led govt buried missions like LIFE, Aardram education initiative, Haritha Keralam and Rebuild Kerala, which are part of the LDF govt's dream project, the New Kerala initiative. Despite holding events like World Kerala Assembly and Global Investment Summit to attract foreign investment, industrial investments remain confined to memorandums of understanding. In the agricultural sector, Kerala is in reverse gear in terms of production and productivity. Due to the severe collapse in educational standards, students are migrating out of Kerala, and since govt hospitals are in a dire state, the majority of people rely on private hospitals that exploit them. The IT and tourism sectors, which were once highly anticipated, have collapsed," he said. Philip added that despite Kerala's accumulated public debt reaching Rs 5 lakh crore, there were no notable development projects. "The K-Rail project was merely a promotional scam. K-FON is unusable in most places. The majority of public sector enterprises are incurring massive losses. KIIFB, identified by the govt for financial mobilization, has turned into a white elephant," he said.