Thiruvananthapuram: With only four days left for the second phase of polling in Kerala when six districts will decide their representatives, the ruling United Democratic Front and the opposition Left Democratic Front have continued to trade charges on the issue of development.
Interestingly, development has been the catchword for both fronts in the state during the election campaigning.
Chief minister Oommen Chandy yesterday played the development card once again, daring the opposition to reveal just what plan they had in mind as a counter to the Smart City project which the UDF government had proposed to set up in association with the Dubai Internet City as a joint venture.
Chandy said in Thrissur yesterday the opposition to the project had cost the state early, including the loss of 33,000 direct jobs which would have been generated by the IT project.
"The Communist Party of India-Marxist must clarify exactly which of the clauses of the Smart City project they are opposed to. There is no ambiguity in the Smart City project and there are no hidden clauses. The allegations against the project are absolutely baseless," Chandy said.
"We are not seeing the Smart City as a stand alone IT project. The Dubai Internet City will be able to bring the giants of the IT world to Kochi when the Smart City project is realised.
"Kerala, which has a leading stature in education, should also have been number one in the IT sector, but for unnecessary opposition to projects," Chandy said.
The chief minister said the Smart City project would also benefit the state because that would send out a clear signal to the rest of the world about Kerala's emergence as an investment-friendly destination.
On the contrary, the CPM-led Left Democratic Front also kept up pressure on the government for what the government claims to be its achievements on the development front.
"The chief minister keeps saying the opposition is anti-development. But what does he mean when he says development. The UDF government has brought many professional education institutions in the name of development but everyone knows that what is happening there is only money-making in the name of education," opposition leader V.S. Achuthanandan said yesterday.
