: Communist Party of India (Marxist) veteran V.S. Achuthanandan said here on Saturday that he would keep raising people’s issues and Left positions, standing as the sentinel of the people of Kerala.
Addressing his last news conference as Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Achuthanandan said he was not one to hanker after positions and the people knew this very well. He was grateful to the people of the State for the support he had received as the Leader of the Opposition. He also valued greatly the issues that the people had shared with him when he toured the entire State during the election campaign and their aspirations for the future.
The LDF government that will take office in the State was duty-bound to bring to light the massive corruption by the Oommen Chandy government and secure punishment for the guilty. People were also looking forward to transparent and honest investigation into the solar scam, the bar bribery row, the murder of the Dalit law student, the Pattoor land deal and the many misdeeds of the UDF government. The days when the murderers of the Dalit would be put behind bars were not far off, he added.
Mr. Achuthanandan said nobody would doubt where the UDF rule had taken the State. Even children knew about the illegal assignment of land, the many scams and atrocities on women that had taken place in the State during the last five years. The UDF government had duped the youth with hollow promises and launch of development projects that were incomplete. The last five years were also a period when paddy lands, backwaters and forests were encroached upon and several Cabinet decisions were taken in violation of established laws. The LDF government had a huge challenge before it, he pointed out.
He refused to respond to questions on whether he would take up any position and said he would continue to live in the capital. He concluded his last news conference as Leader of the Opposition waving and saying “Goodbye, Goodbye, Goodbye!”
