Pinarayi: Poll date will inconvenience people

KANNUR: CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the day fixed for the Piravom bypoll by the Election Commission will cause a lot of inconvenience to the people as the SSLC examination is scheduled to take place on the day.Addressing a ‘Meet the Press’ programme held at the Kannur Press Club on Friday, the CPM sate secretary said that the polling day is a Sunday which, despite being a holiday, would not be approved of by the ‘believers’, indirectly pointing out that the decision of the Election Commission was against the sentiments of certain followers of faith.Pinarayi Vijayan, however, hastened to add that the LDF was prepared to face the bypoll any time, even if it was fixed on the day of the CPM Party Congress scheduled to be held in Kozhikode.He said that the bypoll could have been held earlier but the UDF tried to postpone it as they were afraid of facing the people. The CPM state secretary said that the outcome of the Piravom bypoll would be a verdict against the UDF rule in the state.Pinarayi alleged that the rule of law in the state was being systematically scuttled by the UDF Government led by Oommen Chandy. Explaining the situation that resulted in the resignation of the Special Public Prosecutor in the palmolein case, he said that the government was trying not only to save Chandy but also to scuttle the entire case by manipulating all the findings recorded in the case earlier.“A situation was created by the government to force the Special Public Prosecutor to resign from the post, and still, Oommen Chandy says that he should have continued as prosecutor,” said Pinarayi,  adding, “we all know about the loose talk of Kerala Congress leader P C George that forced the Vigilance Judge himself to keep away from hearing the case.”  George was actually speaking for Oommen Chandy, he said.Speaking about the incident in which two fishermen were shot dead by those from an Italian merchant vessel off Neendakara coast, he demanded stern action against the culprits. Pinarayi demanded that the state and central governments pay adequate compensation to their families.