Vijayan slams Adityanath over his remarks on Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram:  Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has hit out at his Uttar Pradesh counterpart, Yogi Adityanath, for his remarks on the law and order situation and medical facilities in the state.

He said it “amused” him that the UP chief minister found time for Kerala despite “problems” in his own land. “It really amuses me that you (Yogi Adityanath) found time for Kerala, despite the fact that a large number of problems exist in UP as per newspaper reports,” Vijayan said in a facebook post late last night.

He also expressed confidence that Adityanath’s visit to Kerala would rejuvenate him for facing problems back in UP. “But dear I am sure this break, (beautiful and happy trip) would help you to get rejuvenated for facing various issues in UP,” he said. Reacting to Adityanath’s comments on infant mortality rate (IMR) in Kerala, Vijayan said, “The Infant Mortality Rate in Kerala is 10 while the national average is 34 and in Uttar Pradesh, it is 43.” 

He thanked the UP chief minister for letting the country know about IMR figures. Vijayan also asked Yogi to refrain from speaking on the basis of “false and fake” information provided by the state BJP leaders. The Uttar Pradesh CM, who was in Kannur yesterday to take part in the BJP’s ‘Jana Raksh Yatra’, had alleged that medical facilities in Kerala were “inadequate.” 

He also accused the Left party of promoting violence in the state. “There is no scope for political violence in a democracy but unfortunately Kerala, God’s own land, is witnessing politically sponsored violence,” Adityanath had said. The two-week long Jana Raksh Yatra, led by BJP state unit president Kummanam Rajashekharan, has been organised to highlight the alleged attacks on BJP-RSS cadres by the ruling CPI(M).