Who says Communists only work for the poor? They work for themselves too. Otherwise why would India's only Communist Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of Kerala has spent Rs 1 crore for renovating his official residence. Interestingly, this has come at a time when the state was cutting flab in the economy and is on an austerity mode.
However, Kerala government has strongly defended the decision to spend Rs 1 crore on CM's official residence. It said the Kerala CM's house was a heritage building and that it needed to be protected. He said there was nothing wrong in spending that amount on CM's official residence. But when asked if the government was spending the same amount for all the heritage structures, there was no reply. What is interesting is that the contract was awarded to a north Kerala firm called Uralungal without calling for any tender.
Significantly, the building does not qualify to be a heritage building as it is only 79 years old. The building was the former residence of Thiruvananthapuram royal family's Diwan Peshkar (secretary of state) before independence. Most CPM chief ministers, who swear by the poor, have lived in this royal era building. Pinarayi too lives in this building.
However, Kerala government has strongly defended the decision to spend Rs 1 crore on CM's official residence. It said the Kerala CM's house was a heritage building and that it needed to be protected. He said there was nothing wrong in spending that amount on CM's official residence. But when asked if the government was spending the same amount for all the heritage structures, there was no reply. What is interesting is that the contract was awarded to a north Kerala firm called Uralungal without calling for any tender.
Significantly, the building does not qualify to be a heritage building as it is only 79 years old. The building was the former residence of Thiruvananthapuram royal family's Diwan Peshkar (secretary of state) before independence. Most CPM chief ministers, who swear by the poor, have lived in this royal era building. Pinarayi too lives in this building.