State in financial mess: Dr Thomas Isaac

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former finance minister Dr Thomas Isaac on Wednesday said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s and KPCC president V. M. Sudheeran's criticism of International Congress on Kerala Studies was proof enough that the development meet was a huge success.

Reacting to Mr Chandy's accusation that the CPM was 25 years behind in development issues, Mr Isaac said the chief minister had completely derailed development process in the state during the last four years.

“Without fiscal stability what kind of development he can bring. The financial mess is Mr Chandy's Achilles’ heel. Virtually there is no investment to speak about. Most projects which are being project as success stories, are actually those which have been on even during previous government's tenure,” he said.

The agriculture sector is in deep crisis; growth rate though slightly better than national average, has come down considerably.

"The LDF government launched several rail-road projects but there was no follow-up by the UDF," he said.

Mr Isaac slammed planning board member G Vijayaraghavan terming him a politician rather than a technocrat, and dared him to name one big IT project that came during UDF tenure.

"The first IT park in LDF rule. SmartCity, Infosys, Tata Consultancy all are continuing projects, he added.

The CPM leader said even on industrial front the government's performance was poor. Many major PSUs are on the verge of closure, revenue deficit had touched an all time high.

On Mr Chandy's allegation that the CPM had always opposed computerisation and mechanisation, Isaac said, "We have always stood with poor workers. We cannot support technological advancement at the cost of jobs and livelihood means of poor. The Left supported such changes only after ensuring the protection of livelihood."