UDF has failed to honour promises it made to come to power, says K. Surendran

Former BJP State president K. Surendran said that the Congress had betrayed the trust of the people by making lofty promises ahead of elections and then going back on those promises after assuming power.

Addressing the media here on Wednesday, Mr. Surendaran said considering the promise of free travel for women in Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses, the silence of the present United Democratic Front (UDF) government’s on the Sabarimala gold loot case, the failure to withdraw cases against Ayyappa devotees, and the government’s indifference towards the rising wildlife attacks, it is clear that the Congress and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) are two sides of the same coin in terms of deceiving the people in Kerala.

One of the Congress’s main election promises was to allow free travel on KSRTC for women in Kerala. But after assuming power, the government is going back on that promise. Initially, the announcement was that free travel would be provided on all KSRTC bus services. Now, the government is of the view that it will be implemented on a trial basis and limited to ordinary buses only, he said.

Silent on Sabrimala

The Congress, which had campaigned extensively on the Sabarimala gold looting case when it was in Opposition, has been completely silent on the issue since coming to power. Although it had promised to investigate the Sabarimala gold looting case with Central agencies, the government has backed down from it. Not a single mention of the investigation into the case was included in the government’s policy speech, he said.

Earlier, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan alleged that the investigation being conducted by the Special Investigation Team was ineffective in the Sabarimala gold loot case. The government had promised to investigate the Sabarimala case through Central agencies, but it has reneged on that promise., he said.

The government has also not kept its promise to withdraw the cases filed against Ayyappa devotees who participated in the custom protection agitations held as part of the Sabarimala women’s entry issue. No action has been taken so far in the cases filed against tens of thousands of devotees. This reveals the Congress’s double standards towards devotees, he said.

The government continues to remain indifferent even as precious human lives are continuously lost in wildlife attacks in the hilly areas of the State. Congress leaders, who had strongly criticised the LDF government over wildlife attacks when they were in Opposition, have turned a blind eye to the plight of the affected people after coming to power, he alleged.