BackKerala needs to get ahead of its past glory, Pinarayi Vijayan says in I-Day speech
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan also highlights the need to combat divisive forces of communalism and terrorism
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Bengaluru: In his first Independence Day (I-Day) speech as Kerala chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan said the state needs to move ahead of past glory and highlighted the need to combat divisive forces of communalism and terrorism.
“The society has to make sure that the kids who are going for temples and schools are actually reaching there... that they are not reaching the camps of communal forces or terrorists," he said on Monday.
The Kerala government recently ordered a probe after news reports suggested 15 missing youths from the state travelled to Middle East and may have joined the terror outfit Islamic State.
The state is also at a crucial stage of its history, the new chief minister suggested.
Even as Kerala is on par with developed nations when it comes to social aspects of development, the state is far behind when it comes to basic civic infrastructure, Vijayan said in his speech. If this problem is not solved soon, chances are high that the Kerala will be lagging behind other Indian states in every aspect in the recent future, he added.
Vijayan also took the occasion to explain some of the projects devised by the new government after coming to power in May, to tackle this situation.
As announced in the budget, the government will raise investment to the tune of ₹ 50,000 crore from the market for building capital infrastructure, he said. The investors will be given government guarantee and a portion of petrol cess and motor vehicle tax will be used for the repayment of the borrowings.
At a time when the shrinking remittances have given fears of an impending recession, Vijayan reasserted that the welfare fund for expatriates will be increased from ₹ 10 lakh to ₹ 10 crore and that the amount kept aside for their rehabilitation will be raised from ₹ 12 crore to ₹ 24 crore.
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