Kerala CM declares state 'free of extreme poverty'

The Congress-led UDF opposition termed this claim a ‘fraud’ and boycotted the session in protest

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Saturday declared that the state was free of extreme poverty.

Vijayan made the announcement in a special session of the House convened on the occasion of Kerala ‘Piravi’ or formation day and later at a public event held at Central Stadium here in the evening.

At the massive public event attended by Malayalam film superstar Mammootty, he said that eradication of extreme poverty from the state “was a reality and not a fraud”.

He was responding to the opposition — Congress-led UDF allegation that the government’s declaration was a “fraud” and a “public relations exercise” in view of upcoming local body polls.