100 days of Pinarayi Vijayan 2.0, nothing much to cheer about

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 27 It was on May 20 that Pinarayi Vijayan scripted a new chapter in Kerala's political history by becoming the first incumbent full-fledged Left government to be sworn in for the second time in a row and 100 days later, following the turn of various events, it looks like as if he has nothing much to show.

If it was the Covid management he and his Left government did after the country's first case was detected in January 2020, which was largely instrumental in getting him a second term. But now, it is the Covid management during the second term that is getting him the maximum criticism.

As on date, Kerala has around 65 per cent of the new daily cases being reported in India. It has also the maximum active cases and not to mention the maximum deaths. Vijayan has come under attack from the Congress and the BJP who says, if he took credit for the way he managed it last year, then he should come forward and apologise for the way things are now and the biggest grouse against him is after July 23, he has gone off the radar and has not appeared for his customary daily Covid press briefings either, which literally won him his second term.

Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan, unlike his predecessors who has been talking less and observing more on what's happening, said that he will not even give a pass mark for the 100 days of Vijayan's second tenure.

"Normally a 100-day period is not enough to assess any government. But since Vijayan has returned to power, it is a continuation and hence we can assess and I doubt if in the history of the state has any government taken such a beating. Just look what's happening in the fight against Covid, he has miserably failed on all counts and Kerala leads the rest of the country in Covid. I will not even give him a pass mark for his 100-days in office," said Satheesan.

Vijayan who now prefers to interact only through press statements, however, said the opposition is trying to instil a sense of fear in the minds of the people through their campaign.

"This is being done to take away the people's support to this government. If the Kerala model of tackling Covid is wrong, which is the model that should be adopted. The second wave arrived in Kerala late and the density of population is high in the state. All these are known to the opposition," said Vijayan.

Apart from handling of Covid, Vijayan's tackling of the over Rs 500 crore illegal tree felling scam, which took place in October last year based on a controversial order and was later cancelled, also appears to have taken the sheen of the 100-days in office.

Incidentally, two people who hail from Dharmadom, the home turf of Vijayan, one a TV journalist Deepak Dharmadom and another a top forest official N.T.Sajan, have come under the scanner of the opposition for their role in hushing up the case. This has caused heartburns for Vijayan, which forced State BJP president K. Surendran to take potshots at Vijayan. Surendran said the state is eagerly waiting to hear Vijayan speak on the massive Covid spread and also on the illegal tree felling case.

"Vijayan himself is shielding the corrupt in the illegal tree felling case," said Satheesan.

The million dollar question now going around is when will Vijayan return to address the media and the likelihood is that it might happen any time now and until then, the opposition will make merry.

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