Do not punish us for our social advancements, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan tells Centre

kerala chief minister pinarayi Vijayan urges Union government not to punish Kerala for its social advancements, citing Centre's bias. He also calls for more precautionary measures to prevent crowd tragedies and urges people to follow safety guidelines. He also mentions the Health department is monitoring the situation in the wake of reports of a surge in respiratory illness in children in China.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has asked the Union Government not to “punish” a State for its social advancements. “Social advancements should not be a burden or punishment for a State,” he has said referring to the Union government’s policy towards Kerala.

“The Centre has been biased towards Kerala. It should correct its bias,” said the Chief Minister while addressing the media after a special morning gathering held as part of the Navakerala Sadas at Tirur in Malappuram district on November 27, 2023 (Monday).

Mr. Vijayan alleged that the Union government was preventing all means that bring money to Kerala.

The Chief Minister said that the people were generally reluctant to follow the safety guidelines at places of larger gatherings. More precautionary measures should be taken to prevent the recurrence of crowd tragedies, he said.

“We have a peculiar mindset. Whatever happens, we immediately blame the police,” he said, referring to questions about the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) stampede in which four students were killed and several others were injured.

The Chief Minister said that the Health department was monitoring the situation in the State in the wake of the recent reports indicating a surge in respiratory illness in children in northern China in the past few weeks. “There is nothing to worry,” said Mr. Vijayan.

The Union Government on Sunday asked the State Governments to ensure that the trends of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) be closely monitored by the district and State surveillance units of Integrated Disease Surveillance Project, particularly of children and adolescents.