This state claims end to extreme poverty, CM announces milestone in assembly

 New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced in the state assembly on Saturday that Kerala has eliminated extreme poverty. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government claims that Kerala is the first state in the country to do so. The chief minister made the announcement during a special session of the assembly to mark State Formation Day.

Under the Extreme Poverty Eradication Project, launched in 2021, the state government identified 64,006 families as extremely poor. These families received housing, food, health, and livelihood assistance under the four-year scheme. Local Self-Government Minister M.B. Rajesh said that a NITI Aayog study had previously found Kerala to have the lowest poverty rate in the country at 0.7%. “Through surveys, we identified 103,099 individuals from 64,006 families living in extreme poverty and linked them to schemes,” he said.

The opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) walked out of the House, calling the government's claims a complete fraud. Opposition leader V.D. Satheesan said the Chief Minister's statement violated parliamentary rules. Reacting to this, Chief Minister Vijayan said, "When the UDF says fraud, it is talking about its own conduct. We have done what we said."