Even as the Department of Health in Kerala diagnosed 4,125 new patients with Covid-19 on Tuesday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan blamed the Opposition parties and the media in the State for the ‘unprecedented hike’ in the transmission of the disease.

“My Government has done the best to control and regulate the Covid-19 pandemic. But the Opposition parties in the State want to subvert and sabotage the good works of my government. The media is highlighting the unnecessary and unwanted agitations and demonstrations staged by the opposition parties,” Vijayan charged while briefing the media on Tuesday evening.

He said though he was not against rightful agitations, the present demonstrations have been planned by the Opposition parties with the sole aim of spreading the pandemic. 

 “There are 40, 382 active patients in the State. Out of the 4,125 new patients diagnosed on Tuesday, 3,463 contracted the disease through social transmission. The day also saw 19 persons succumbing to the disease and this has taken the fatalities till date to 553. Its only because of the Opposition agitation and unlawful crowds mobilized by them the pandemic went out of control in Kerala,” said Vijayan.               

The BJP and its feeder organizations like ABVP, BJYM and Mahila Morchcha are on a statewide agitation demanding the resignation of higher education minister K T Jaleel whose name is linked to gold smuggling and illegal import of Quran allegedly for smuggling in gold from UAE.

The Chief Minister said that the Opposition parties are making life dangerous for the common people. “It is not that the opposition parties are ignorant of the World Health Organization guidelines. They think that it is only through violent demonstrations that they get noticed  by the people. The media should understand the intentions of these parties,” said Vijayan.   

He was all praise for policemen in the State whom  he described as the guardians of the society. “The day saw 101 policemen were diagnosed on Tuesday with Covid-19. These are all part of the conspiracies hatched by the opposition,” he said.