Opposition attacks Kerala govt over front-page ads touting LDF ‘transformation’

A political row has erupted in Kerala after the state government released front-page advertisements in several major newspapers highlighting what it described as the transformation achieved under the Left Democratic Front government.

The advertisements, issued through the state’s Information and Public Relations Department Kerala, compared conditions during the previous United Democratic Front government between 2011 and 2016 with developments under the current administration led by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The front-page portion reproduced newspaper headlines from the earlier UDF period highlighting issues such as electricity shortages, the financial distress of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, delays in welfare pension payments and obstacles in National Highway projects.

Inside pages of the advertisement set out what the government described as improvements during the LDF tenure. According to the campaign, the state has not experienced major power shortages in recent years, welfare pensions are being disbursed without arrears, key National Highway construction works are nearing completion and the financial position of KSRTC has improved.

However, leaders of the opposition Congress have strongly criticised the advertisements, accusing the government of misusing public funds to promote political messaging.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said the move had forced the state’s public relations machinery to “stoop so low”. He questioned how government funds could be used to discredit a previous administration and warned that the issue would be pursued both politically and through legal channels.

Congress general secretary and Lok Sabha member K. C. Venugopal alleged that the advertisements violated established norms by using taxpayers’ money to spread what he called misleading claims.

He also claimed that the campaign indirectly targeted former chief minister Oommen Chandy, even after his death.

Senior Congress leader and former home minister Ramesh Chennithala also criticised the initiative, accusing the government of wasting public resources and abusing its authority. He further alleged that the state’s Information and Public Relations Department was functioning as though it were operating from the headquarters of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

The controversy comes at a time when political tensions are rising in Kerala as the state moves closer to the next assembly elections, with both the ruling LDF and the opposition UDF intensifying their claims and counterclaims over governance and development.

With IANS inputs