A day after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made a high-pitch campaign for the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) here, the Congress on Saturday (December 6, 2025) challenged his claims, terming them “far from reality”.
District Congress Committee (DCC) president Muhammed Shiyas told the media here that the Chief Minister was trying to whitewash the LDF which had failed to address basic infrastructure issues in the city during its five-year governance of the Kochi Corporation.
“The Chief Minister claimed that Operation Breakthrough, carried out to resolve waterlogging in the city at a cost of ₹25 crore, was a huge success. However, all major roads in the city were getting submerged in the recent rains,” Mr. Shiyas said.
Countering the Chief Minister’s promise of a third roll-on roll-off service, the Congress leader said the LDF government had undermined the project successfully implemented by the United Democratic Front (UDF) by not paying for annual maintenance. “Frequent disruptions in services due to technical glitches have also rendered the service ineffective,” he said.
He also questioned the Chief Minister’s claims of resolving traffic snarls with smart roads. “Most roads in the city remain in shambles. The issue has only worsened. No money has been spent on building new roads and overbridges. Work on the second phase of the Kochi metro towards Infopark is moving at a snail’s pace. Steps for the development of the Thammanam–Pulleppady road have not made any progress,” Mr. Shiyas said.
Shiyas termed the LDF rule in the Corporation a “regime of corruption”. Responding to Mayor M. Anilkumar’s allegation that the Congress had an unholy nexus with the BJP in several wards of the Corporation, the DCC chief said the CPI(M) was peddling lies out of fear of an electoral setback. “The CPI(M) is afraid of contesting on its own symbol in many areas in the district,” Mr. Shiyas said, calling it a tactic to secure BJP and SDPI votes.
Published – December 06, 2025 08:54 pm IST
