CPI Keralam secretary Binoy Viswam slams LDF for discriminatory policies

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CPI State secretary Binoy Viswam has launched a scathing attack against the policies of the previous LDF government, accusing the administration of adopting double standards towards toddy shops and bars. Speaking at the Kerala Samsthana Chethu Thozhilali Federation (KSCTF) State conference in Vaikom, he observed that the previous government adopted a wrong approach towards the toddy-taping industry and its workers, failing to take any action to protect traditional labourers.

Mr. Viswam revealed that despite the CPI repeatedly raising the demand in LDF meetings to reduce the 400-meter distance limit of toddy shops from educational institutions and places of worship, no action was taken. “In stark contrast, the LDF government reduced the distance limit for bars owned by elites to just 50 meters, clearly demonstrating a dual policy toward toddy shops and bars. LDF has a political obligation to protect traditional sectors like toddy, handloom, cashew, and beedi,” he said. He added that although Pinarayi Vijayan and other leaders agreed with the CPI’s point during front meetings, the government wasted five years without doing anything. “Correctness is only validated when right principles are actually implemented,” he said.

Calling for serious introspection within the LDF leadership over the defeat in the last Assembly elections, Mr Viswam pointed out that even the front’s loyal supporters did not vote for them. While acknowledging that it was wrong for party members to withhold their votes, he stressed that the LDF must identify the reasons behind this alienation and understand why the public drifted away.

Turning his criticism toward the Congress party, Mr. Viswam said if Jawaharlal Nehru were alive today, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan would have received the harshest rebuff from him. He argued that Mr. Satheesan’s stances completely reject Jawaharlal Nehru’s true political ideals and traditions, leading the Congress along paths that a Nehruvian Congress could never have imagined. He added that Congress is merely using Nehru’s name as a cover to conceal its own political mistakes, reminding the leadership that Nehru is not a shield to hide political failures.

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