Thiruvananthapuram: Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday accused the UDF government of delaying the appointment of doctors who are in the PSC rank list at a time when Kerala is witnessing a rise in communicable diseases.

Addressing a press conference, Vijayan alleged that around 400 doctors included in the Public Service Commission (PSC) rank list had received advice memos in May but are yet to be appointed to vacant posts across the state.

Claiming that such delays were unprecedented, he alleged that the appointments were being held up due to extraneous factors, including political interests. He urged the government to take immediate steps to complete the postings.

"The public health sector of Kerala is facing a great challenge currently due to the increase in communicable diseases like Shigella, Nipah, dengue, cholera, West Nile, amoebic meningoencephalitis, etc.," Vijayan said.

"Day-by-day, there is an increase in the number of people being infected, and the number of deaths is also rising," he added.

The Opposition leader also alleged that there was a lack of coordination in disease prevention activities and inadequate vigilance by the government. He further claimed that shortages of essential medicines were affecting the public health sector.

Vijayan also criticised the government's approach towards several welfare programmes introduced by the previous LDF administration. According to him, schemes such as the women's security project and the monthly stipend programme for youth have either been delayed or put on hold.

Describing the developments as "unacceptable", he urged the government to continue welfare initiatives without disruption.

He also called on the government to ensure uninterrupted power supply during the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2026, noting that football fans across Kerala are closely following the tournament and should not face electricity restrictions during matches.

With PTI inputs