The declaration by the Kerala government that the State is now free of extreme poverty is a rhetorical exercise as part of a propoganda, said Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph, MLA.
He was addressing a press conference at KPCC headquarters here on Saturday after a meeting of its office-bearers and District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents.
With the declaration, the State government is denying people belonging to the extremely poor category their rights. The government spent ₹10 crore for extreme poverty-free Kerala campaign, including in other language media. The government used this as an opportunity for election campaigning. According to the census, there are 4.85 lakh tribal families in various parts of the State, while according to government estimates, there are 6,400 extremely poor tribal families.
Many instances where people who have no space to lay their heads and have nothing to eat were reported in the recent past. There are also people who are eligible for houses under the Life Mission scheme but are still not getting the benefits. The government should clarify its figures. This is just a rhetorical exercise as part of a propaganda, he said.
Mr. Joseph also said that the meeting of KPCC office-bearers and DCC presidents assessed the preparations for the local body elections, and the meeting also agreed to quickly divide the seats among the coalition partners and determine the candidates. He also said that the United Democratic Front (UDF) has a good chance of winning the upcoming polls.
Published – November 01, 2025 08:52 pm IST
