Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan responded to the Opposition’s allegations that the government was using public funds to the tune of Rs 50 crore to organise the Women’s Wall on New Year’s Day. Speaking at a public event in Thiruvananthapuram, Pinarayi said that although the government supported the Wall, no public funds were being utilised to organise the women’s wall.
The chief minister clarified that the origin of this allegation had risen from an affidavit submitted to the Kerala HC by Congress leader KC Joseph which claimed that the government was using public funds for the Wall. The Chief Minister said that the affidavit had taken schemes for women and children that the government had planned and had pegged their cost at Rs 50 crore to the Women’s Wall issue.
The Women’s Wall, which is an initiative by Kerala to emphasise on gender equality with regard to the Sabarimala issue, has faced opposition from the Congress and BJP. Leaders such as K Surendran from BJP and KPCC President Mullappally Ramachandran said that they would take action if government employees and children from schools were being forced to join the Wall. The Kerala High Court even said that women below the age of 18 were not allowed to join the Wall.
Regarding the chief minister’s reaction, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and Mullappally Ramachandran called it ‘political grandstanding’, according to The Hindu.
Congress leader KC Joseph even moved a breach of privilege notice against the chief minister. In the letter, he claimed that although Pinarayi had said no public funds were used by the government for the Women’s Wall, however, in its letter to the High Court, it was clear that the government had drawn funds set aside for women and child welfare schemes to use for the wall. The chief minister had misled the assembly, the letter alleged.