The Congress party in Kerala has asked the CPI-M-led Pinarayi Vijayan government to end the "double speak" in handling the stray dog menace, which has become a burning social issue in the state.
Speaking to IANS, State Congress president V.M. Sudheeran said on Friday that the double game is being enacted in the apex court of the country. "While in Kerala, the government has said they will take measures to cull ferocious dogs, but it has taken a very soft stand in the Supreme Court, where the case is going on. So, we demand that the government end this double talk and file a fresh affidavit to the effect that strict action will be taken in this regard," said Sudheeran.
Sudheeran pointed out that even the apex court had observed that while dogs should be treated with care, it should not be done at the cost of hardships to the people.
"In their present affidavit, the Kerala government has not addressed the fears of the people of the state. This has not been done even after dogs attacked a lady here last month. Every day I read about attacks by dogs on human beings here. Although the government in Kerala says they will take strong measures, it can't be seen in the affidavits," said Sudheeran.
According to the government, more than one lakh people in the state have been bitten by stray dogs this year and Kerala leads the rest of the country in the sale of anti-rabies vaccine.
There have been a string of incidents recently where attacks by stray dogs have severely injured people in the state and in some cases caused deaths as well.
On Aug 19, a 65-year-old woman was attacked and partly eaten up by 50 stray dogs, barely 10 km from the state secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram.
The victim Sheeluamma, died in the Medical College hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.
Earlier, another 50-year-old, Daisy was attacked by a group of dogs in a nearby locality on the seafront.