Kerala: Oppn boycotts investor meet; accuses CM of fudging facts

Kochi, Jan 21 (IANS) The opposition in Kerala boycotted the investor meet on Saturday and accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and State Industries Minister P.Rajeev of misleading the people regarding the growth of the state's industrial sector.

Leader of Opposition V.D.Satheesan alleged that the state government was "blatantly" lying about the progress made in the state.

"It's in contrast to the figures put out by the Reserve Bank of India in its latest report. Here claims are being made that in the past one year, one lakh new units started functioning and two lakhs new jobs were created.

"According to the RBI report, Kerala lags behind other South Indian states. While in Tamil Nadu Rs 4.5 lakh crore capital investment took place in the industrial sector, in Kerala it was just Rs 0.76 lakh crore. Likewise, in numerous units in Tamil Nadu, 26 lakh jobs were there, in Kerala it stands at 3.34 lakh. Surprisingly, this government has added to the list even those units which were started by the people who took loans from banks," said Satheesan.

"The Vijayan government has miserably failed in making any progress in the industrial sector and they are sitting tight doing nothing. The only thing that happens is the airing of statements which are nothing but 'bluffs'. We skipped the investor meeting only to protest that," he added.