Govt lost collective responsibility: Chennithala

Kottayam: CPI(M)-led LDF government in the State has lost collective responsibility, which was reflected from statements by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and representatives of CPI in the government on the private law college issue, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala Saturday said.

"Nothing is moving" under the LDF dispensation in the state due to the "differences" between the Chief Minister and his ministers in the government, Chennithala said.

Referring to the support extended by CPI, the key partner in the LDF government, to the recent students' agitation at the private Kerala Law Academy Law College, the Opposition Leader in the Assembly said "Vijayan appears to have lost his grip over the administration."

"The LDF government has lost collective responsibility.

There is a trust deficit between CPI(M) and CPI over the Kerala Law Academy land issue. It is reflected from the statements by the Chief Minister and his CPI colleagues in the ministry", he said.

"While the Chief Minister makes certain remarks, Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan says just opposite to it," Chennithala told reporters here.

The Congress leader alleged that the state government did nothing for the state hit by severe drought due to the differences in the government.

He was referring to the different positions taken by the CPI(M) and CPI over the recent students agitation at the Law Academy which had received support from major political parties except the CPI(M).

While CPI supported a joint agitation by various student outfits including ABVP, KSU, AISF and MSF raising removal of the principal of the Law Academy, CPI(M)'s student outfit SFI had withdrawn from the strike halfway after the alleged intervention by the CPI(M) leaders.

The nearly a month-long agitation had seen some top leaders including former KPCC president K Muraleedharan, former president of BJP's Kerala state unit, V Muraleedharan observing fast expressing solidarity with the students who had sought removal of the principal of the institute.