BJP questions CM Satheesan's double standards over LPST job aspirants' stir

Thiruvananthapuram: The BJP on Thursday stepped up its attack on Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan over the handling of the ongoing agitation by Lower Primary School Teacher (LPST) job aspirants, accusing him of going back on promises made when he was the Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly.

BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekha, national secretary K. Surendran and party MLA V. Muraleedharan visited the protesters' venue in front of the Secretariat and expressed solidarity with their agitation.

Chandrasekhar said that when Satheesan was the Leader of Opposition, he "made big talks on the then Asha workers' strike".

“I am here not to make this a controversy. The people in Kerala gave a vote for Satheesan to solve issues, but it’s going to be six months now and apart from talks, no headway has been made. We demand that the job aspirant's demands be met, and till it’s met, we will be with them,” said Chandrasekhar.

Surendran said Satheesan had visited the protest venue while in the Opposition and promised a permanent solution to the grievances of the protesters if the UDF came to power.

However, after becoming Chief Minister, he was now betraying them, he alleged.

He recalled that CM Satheesan had expressed anguish when a woman protester, Valarmathi, had shaved her head as part of the ongoing agitation, saying he was moved to tears.

The same Chief Minister was now using the police to dismantle the protest venue and silence the protesters, Surendran alleged.

He said the government was following the same politics of neglect adopted by the previous Pinarayi Vijayan government towards protesters.

The BJP's stand that the Congress and the CPI(M) were no different was being vindicated, he added.

Muraleedharan, meanwhile, accused Satheesan of adopting double standards by preparing to launch protests in Delhi while suppressing agitations in Kerala.

He said the Chief Minister's authoritarian style of functioning was unacceptable.

The same people who had promised to resolve the demands of LPST job aspirants within 24 hours of coming to power were now dismantling their protest venue, he alleged.

Muraleedharan also challenged Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and K.C. Venugopal to clarify whether CM Satheesan's stand represented the party's position.

The BJP leaders demanded that the government hold talks with the protesters and give them clear assurances on their appointment demands.

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