T’puram/Kochi: Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has stepped back from a proposed face-to-face public debate with opposition leader V D Satheesan, clarifying that his earlier invitation was for a discussion via Facebook and not a face-to-face one. Addressing a news conference in the state capital on Tuesday, Vijayan said his remarks had been misinterpreted, asserting that he only invited Satheesan to engage in a debate on social media, particularly on the govt’s performance highlighted in the LDF’s report card. Soon after the CM’s clarification, Satheesan renewed his challenge, taking to Facebook to question the lack of clarity on the time and venue for the debate. He reminded Vijayan that 24 hours had passed since the CM indicated willingness for a discussion and urged him to take note. Later, while addressing reporters at North Paravur, Satheesan expressed deep disappointment over the CM’s withdrawal from the debate. He accused the CM of retreating to social media monologues to avoid accountability for “profound lies” regarding the state’s housing projects and financial health.Satheesan noted that while the chief minister claimed the previous UDF govt built only 4,000 houses, official data from the CM’s own cabinet proved that 4,43,000 persons turned beneficiaries of the housing scheme during Oommen Chandy’s tenure.“The CM has become silent since his ‘mega-lie’ was exposed by his own ministers’ replies in the assembly,” Satheesan said, adding that Kerala is not a totalitarian state like “Stalin’s Russia” where dissent can be silenced by removing social media interviews via police intervention. The opposition leader also took a dig at the CPM’s “shifting stance on communal parties”. He demanded that Vijayan apologize to the parents of Abhimanyu, the slain SFI leader, before seeking or accepting support from the SDPI.“The CM is the embodiment of opportunism. He brands groups as ‘secular’ when they walk with him for 40 years, but labels them ‘communal’ the moment they support UDF. We are the first front to officially reject SDPI support, yet the CM questions why we would do so while he quietly welcomes alliances with the PDP and SDPI for electoral gain,” he said.Satheesan alleged that CPM treats “martyrdom like winning a jackpot”. He accused CPM leaders in Payyannur and Thiruvananthapuram of embezzling funds collected in the names of martyrs like Abhimanyu and Vishnu. Satheesan accused the CM of protecting three CPM leaders involved in the Sabarimala gold heist.On the economic front, Satheesan mocked the govt’s claim of financial stability, noting that Rs 2,150 crore in dues to local bodies remain unpaid. “The treasury is empty, yet they attempt to divert loans taken by the water authority,” he said.
