Pinarayi Vijayan takes up BJP's challenge to organise debate on development issues

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said his government was ready to take up the challenge thrown by the BJP to organise a debate on development issues. [caption id=“attachment_4056181” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. PTI[/caption] But the Left leader was quick to add that the saffron party had attempted to run away from the debate. “Not expecting a constructive approach from the BJP, which has tried to project the allocation and share of Central funds to the state as a ‘concession’ of the Centre,” Vijayan said in a Facebook post. Stating that the stance of the ruling LDF was different, Vijayan said the state wants to maintain cordial relations with the Centre and also to take effective steps for getting its due share. The Kerala chief minister alleged that frequent requests to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the state’s development issues have been denied. “Is this because of the political enmity created by the BJP unit in Kerala?” Vijayan posed to BJP state president Kummanom Rajasekharan. Speaking on the much talked about political violence in the southern state, the CPM veteran leader said the effort should be to end tension by holding peace meetings and conducting bilateral (between CPM and RSS-BJP leaders) talks. He also alleged that the 15-day long ‘Jan Raksha Yatra’ taken out by the BJP recently propagated “lies and false messages”. BJP state chief Kummanom Rajasekharan had stated that the first and foremost step needed for development was putting an end to conflict and an environment that fosters conflict. In a Facebook post, he had said that if the chief minister was prepared for a sincere and healthy debate, the stand would be welcomed.