Kozhikode: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan raised a sharp criticism against the opposition for interrupting the special rice distribution by filing a complaint with the election commission. Addressing the media here on Sunday, the CM condemned the revengeful act of the opposition.

“The Opposition party should behave like opposition and not like a revengeful party. The opposition leader tried to block the rice to the public by misleading the election commission,” criticized Pinarayi Vijayan.

In the complaint to the EC, the opposition leader alleged that the LDF government is distributing the welfare pension of May along with the April pension. He also alleged that the government is trying to influence voters by distributing welfare pension for two months. The opposition leader should behave responsibly while moving a petition to a responsible authority while serving in a responsible post, said the CM.

Responding to the allegations raised by the opposition leader regarding the welfare pension, the CM asserted that the government didn’t distribute pension for May. He added that the welfare pension of March and April was distributed together.

“The government has issued an order on distributing welfare pension for the month of April before April 14. This order was issued before the announcement of the assembly polls. The government used to distribute welfare pension and salary earlier during festival occasions. But the opposition leader is behaving like he has no idea about this,” pointed out Pinarayi Vijayan.

He also responded to Chennithala’s allegations against the distribution of Vishu special free kit.

“Our government started distributing free kits during the struggling days of the COVID-19 outbreak. Food kit is not a new subject in Kerala. It is being distributed for many months,” said the CM.

“Though Onam was on August 31 in 2020, we started food kit distribution from August 31. I am pointing out this matter as a reply to those who are alleging that the government didn’t distribute kit for Onam,” he added.

“These issues are not related to the polls. Rice is distributed to the children under the mid-day meal scheme. In the first phase, we distributed the rice earlier. A revised order for rice distribution to students was issued on February 20. The government planned to complete the distribution within March. So, something planned earlier would not be considered as a poll code violation,” said the Chief Minister.

He added that the public has the right to the food kit. At the same time, he appealed to the election commission to take a decision after examining the facts.

The Chief Minister also explained COVID cases in the state.

“According to a study conducted in Kerala, only 10.6 percent of people tested positive for COVID-19. That means about 90 percent of people in Kerala have not contracted the virus. We managed to counter the spread of the virus with an efficient preventive mechanism. As there are many people who are not infected, there are high chances for the spread of the virus,” pointed out the CM.

Attacking the opposition, the Chief Minister highlighted the community kitchen and free kit distribution in the state.

“1034 community kitchens were established in the state during the first phase of COVID-19 outbreak. Food packets were distributed through community kitchens to the needy. Free food kits were distributed irrespective of BPL and APL categories. Though the Anganwadis remain closed, the government assured that the children are getting nutritious food. The government provided all these services to help the public who went jobless amid the pandemic. They deserve these services. So, the government should continue it. But the opposition is trying to block such welfare programmes,” added Pinarayi Vijayan.

  pinaray vijayan