The NITI Aayog’s praise constitutes a stinging snub to the prophets of doom and doubting Thomases who delight, day in and day out, in debunking the developmental efforts of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government. It also knocks the stuffing out of the Opposition’s anti-Government narrative. The NITI Aayog’s positive gesture is on the right lines and in consonance with the laudable concept that there should be no politics when it comes to development. That is the kind of spirit which should animate Government-Opposition relations.

Ironically, Uttar Pradesh, whose Government loses no opportunity to criticize Kerala’s performance on the health front, is at the bottom of the list! Will it silence the Pinarayi government’s detractors in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)? Unlikely, if their past record is anything to go by. But, then, not everybody can be a Shashi Tharoor who does not scruple at praising the LDF Government where it deserves praise. Tharoor’s fine gesture is worth emulating.

The health index is prepared on the basis of the States’ show in a wide set of indicators divided into three main categories: health outcomes, governance and information, and key inputs and processes. The parameters that govern health outcomes are neonatal mortality rate, under-5 mortality rate and sex ratio at birth.

Under governance comes institutional deliveries, average occupancy of senior officers in key posts earmarked for health.“Key inputs” area comprises the proportion of shortfall in health care providers to what is recommended, functional medical facilities, registration of births and deaths and the success rate of tuberculosis treatment.

Significantly, the better performing states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra acquitted themselves better on the health outcomes domain. It may be sheer coincidence, but all these States are ruled by opposition parties!

While Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh retained their rank, four states showed improvement. While Telangana improved its position from fourth to third, Gujarat from seventh to sixth, and Punjab from ninth to eighth. The best performance was by Assam which improved its ranking from 15 to 12.

The NITI Aayog’s repeated pats on Kerala’s back should induce a rethinking on the part of the State’s detractors. Criticism for criticism’s sake is passé. Criticism is ok. But the opposition should appreciate it when the Government does something good for the people’s welfare. In this context, mention must be made of the shocking conduct of Kerala’s Opposition parties whose MPs met the Union Railway Minister in a determined attempt to scuttle Kerala’s SilverLine project, which when implemented will reduce the running time from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram from 12 hours at present to four hours. This was an unprecedented development in the annals of Kerala’s political history. No word of condemnation is too harsh for the appalling attitude displayed by the Opposition parties. It is time they grew out of this negative mindset. (IPA Service)