Left govt using public funds for self advertisements: Congress' Ramesh Chennithala

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Friday accused the Left government in Kerala of using public funds to put up advertisements on state transport buses and billboards to highlight its achievements and promises ahead of the assembly polls. Chennithala, speaking to reporters here, alleged that the advertisements were trying to hide or whitewash the LDF government's poor governance and mislead the public. ''The government is spending crores of the people's money on putting up advertisements on KSRTC buses and huge billboards about itself. They are doing it to whitewash or hide their failures and poor governance, The public will see through such attempts,'' he contended. Chennithala further said that the public and several senior Left leaders and sympathisers, like veteran poet and Kerala Sahitya Akademi chairman K Satchidanandan, have called for a change in government. ''But, the Kerala CM is failing to see this. He wants to rule the state for a third time,'' the senior Congress leader said. He also claimed that the Congress' state-wide yatra was progressing successfully as it was getting a huge response from the public. He also said that the party has commenced its assembly poll-related work with the setting up of two key panels -- the campaign and manifesto committees -- of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee ahead of the elections in the state. Chennithala and Shashi Tharoor have been appointed chairman and co-chairman, respectively, of the party's campaign committee. Congress MP Shafi Parambil will be the convenor of the campaign committee.