THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The LDF will take out jathas against the growing intolerance in the country and the Narendra Modi government’s ‘anti-people’ polices from October 3. The jathas that will begin from the northern and southern tips of the state will conclude on October 16. CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan will lead the northern jatha to be flagged off from Manjeshwaram while CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran will head the southern jatha beginning from Thiruvananthapuram. The northern jatha will conclude in Thrissur and the southern in Ernakulam.
The LDF leadership has accused the centre of heaping miseries on the people through its neo- liberal policies. The farm sector is in deep crisis with farmers being forced to commit suicide. Many of the public sector units which were self-sufficient and running in profit, are being selectively sold off to the private parties, LDF convenor Vaikom Viswan said.
Unemployment is growing at an alarming rate despite the prime minister’s promise to create six- crore jobs annually. Mr Viswan said another major threat being faced by the country was growing intolerance and communal polarisation. “The democratic values and ideals of the country are being selectively targeted. The latest example of intolerance was the cold-blooded murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru,” he said.
The multi-cultural, pluralist ethos of the nation and the federal structure were being systematically destroyed. The LDF government which has opposed these policies of the centre and projected a people’s alternative, has come under attack and is also facing threat of destabilisation, he said. Despite the grim scenario in the country, the Congress seems to be adopting a soft policy towards the centre, he said. In Kerala, the UDF was encouraging the attacks against the government, he alleged. During the course of the jatha , the LDF will raise these issues, Mr Viswan said and sought the people’s support for the campaign.
