Thiruvananthapuram | KPCC president Sunny Joseph on Thursday said the party's state leadership meeting expressed satisfaction with the UDF government's performance in its first 100-plus days in office.
Joseph was speaking to reporters after a KPCC meeting held here, where party leaders discussed various political and administrative matters.
"The political and administrative situation in Keralam was thoroughly discussed," he said.
Joseph, who is also the electricity minister, said the power crisis was a major topic of discussion at the meeting.
He said the meeting did not discuss the clash between Congress MLA Ramya Haridas and party workers in Chirayinkeezhu, as a party-appointed team is probing the incident.
"Other than recommending that the investigation proceed, nothing else was raised in this regard. Action will be taken after the investigation report is submitted," he said.
He said it was decided to take further steps to strengthen the party's organisational activities.
Joseph said the meeting expressed satisfaction with the UDF government's performance during its first 100-plus days in office.
"The meeting expressed strong support and satisfaction with the good coordination between the government and the party, as well as the government's performance over the past 100-plus days. The Onam celebrations were a big success," he said.
"The meeting expressed pride in providing the Priyadarshini free travel facility on our KSRTC buses. Likewise, satisfaction was expressed over the anti-narcotics drive, Operation Toofan. The Onam celebrations were conducted without any difficulties, crises or issues, and the meeting expressed satisfaction over that as well," he said.
Joseph said the meeting also discussed the Enforcement Directorate's recommendation to register a case against former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his daughter Veena in connection with the alleged Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited bribery case.
"The government will decide on it after seeking legal advice. That is the party's stance. The Marxist Party's justifications are by no means satisfactory. Let the law take its course. That is the Congress position," he said.
On the Ecologically Sensitive Area issue following the Kasturirangan report, Joseph said both the government and the Congress were committed to ensuring that agricultural land, residential areas and plantations were excluded while finalising ESA boundaries in Keralam.
Regarding the implementation of the Prime Minister Schools for Rising India scheme in Keralam, he said the Congress wanted to move forward while preserving the secular values of the state's educational system.
"A decision on it will be taken in due course. We have appointed a cabinet sub-committee for it. A decision will be taken based on the committee's report," he said.
Joseph said the meeting decided to intensify the protest against the removal of Mangaluru and nearby railway stations from the Palakkad railway division and continue the agitation under the leadership of MPs.
Party leaders were assigned responsibility for coordinating local body by-elections to be held at various places.
"It was decided to move forward with campaign activities to ensure victory in the elections," he said.
