Wednesday’s Kerala assembly witnessed a robust defense of the state’s health framework from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who dismantled UDF accusations of impending disaster. Positioning Kerala as the nation’s health pacesetter, he spotlighted undeniable successes.
Dismissing the Congress-led bloc’s motion on systemic woes, Vijayan underscored massive LDF-driven overhauls, including the transformative ‘Aardram Mission’ that revitalizes public facilities and patient services.
Kerala’s pandemic response – marked by swift infrastructure buildup and effective containment – remains a blueprint for others. Opponents, however, hype sporadic lapses to discredit the entire edifice, a tactic Vijayan deemed destructive to its international stature.
‘Corrective actions are our norm,’ he stated, committing to relentless improvements. The retort targeted Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan’s tirade on staff deficits, emergency scarcities, negligence cases, probe inefficiencies, and decaying hospital setups.
Satheesan decried delays, errors, abandoned UDF medical ventures, and the shift to unaffordable private options, branding public health ‘on life support.’ The verbal duel exposes raw political nerves, with health at the epicenter.
Election-year dynamics suggest this rift will widen, as parties vie to sway public opinion on governance and welfare priorities.