Thiruvananthapuram: The appointment of Harvard professor Gita Gopinath as financial adviser to Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan seems to have irked many, including Marxist economist Prabhat Patnaik.
Voicing his displeasure over the appointment of Gopinath, who is known for her neo-liberal economic policies, Patnaik said, "The LDF government should not fall into the trap of new economic development strategies.
"Such strategies are often anti-labor and against the interests of the common people. Intellectuals of Kerala will not accept such advice," he added.
Urging the LDF government in Kerala to focus on cooperative groups rather than large-scale investments, Patnaik said that the Left will not be able to form an alternative method if they were to blindly follow 'Modi's development agenda'.
Even the CPM central leadership is of the opinion that her appointment is against the ideologies of the party. The CPM top brass has reportedly sought an explanation from the state leadership.
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A professor at Harvard University and head of its economics department, Gopinath will be appointed on a co-terminus post created for her. She will serve the government without payment. She is the daughter of T.V. Gopinath, a native of Mayyil in Kannur, and V.C. Vijayalakshmi.
Earlier, the government had appointed senior lawyer M.K. Damodaran as the legal adviser and eminent journalist John Brittas as media adviser to the CM. However, Damodaran did not assume office following some controversies.