LDF, UDF continue blame game over boy's tragic death
The tragic electrocution of 15-year-old Ananthu from an illegal electric trap set for wild boars at Vazhikkadavu dominated the Nilambur Assembly byelection campaign for the second consecutive day on Monday with the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) taking out protest marches to different centres.
In a bid to gain political mileage from the tragedy, both of them blamed each other for the tragic accident. The LDF staged a protest outside the Vazhikkadavu panchayat office, while the UDF organised a march to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) office at Vazhikkadavu, each trying to pin the responsibility on the other.
The UDF pointed fingers at the KSEB, arguing that it was its responsibility to prevent power theft for illegal activities such as electric trapping of wild boars. The LDF countered that the onus lay with the local body. The blame game intensified with the UDF targeting the LDF-led State government and its agencies while the LDF targeted the UDF-ruled local body.
CPI(M) Polit Bureau member A. Vijayaraghavan, inaugurating the LDF march, attributed the incident to the failure of the Vazhikkadavu panchayat administration, stating that it had not implemented the existing protocol to cull wild animals causing crop damage.
Mr. Vijayaraghavan accused the panchayat of colluding with those involved in illegally hunting wild boars. He said the UDF's efforts to make political capital out of the tragedy had boomeranged.
K. Radhakrishnan, MP, CPI leader Satyan Mokeri, Alice Mathew, M.M. Varghese, V.P. Sanu, E. Jayan, T.M. Siddique, Jamsheer K., and M.T. Ali spoke.
Inaugurating the UDF march, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said the incident exposed the negligence of government departments. 'Ananthu's family and several other local residents had complained to the KSEB and the Forest department about the electricity theft for hunting wild animals, but no action was taken. It is a clear case of government negligence,' he said.
Mr. Satheesan lashed out at the government for its inaction. 'The LDF's march to the panchayat office is a farce. The government does not provide funds for culling wild boars. Instead of blaming the panchayat, the LDF should protest outside the offices of the Forest and Electricity Ministers,' he said.
UDF panchayat chairman Saidalavi Valassery presided over the function. A.K.M. Ashraf, Anvar Sadath, MLAs, Congress district president V.S. Joy and Muslim League leader K.M. Shaji spoke.
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