Kerala ASHA workers urge Mohanlal, Mammooty and Kamal Haasan to boycott LDF’s ‘extreme poverty-free’ declaration event

A section of volunteer community health workers under the National Health Mission (NHM) and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) have requested actors Mohanlal, Mammootty and Kamal Haasan not to perform the official function declaring Kerala “free from extreme poverty” on November 1.

ASHAs under the aegis of Kerala ASHA Healthcare Workers Association (KAHWA) have been on an indefinite sit-in strike in front of the Government Secretariat since February 2025 for a significant increase in their monthly wages and retirement benefits, among other demands.

In an open letter to the actors, ASHAS said their lives, trials and tribulations belie the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s claim that Kerala has eradicated extreme poverty. They claimed that the government turned a blind eye to the protests.

Over the past nine months, ASHAs said they have been sleeping rough on the pavement and braving police action, including a water cannon attack, during their recent march to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s official residence at Cliff House in Thiruvananthapuram to keep their cause alive. But the government ignored their grievances and belittled their demands.

KAHWA recalled that at least 11 ASHAs succumbed to Covid-19 while providing community health services during the pandemic. However, their sacrifices for the society were not taken into account by the LDF government.

KAHWAs’ call comes just ahead of the star-studded mega event where the Prime Minister will declare Kerala the first state to eliminate extreme poverty in Thiruvananthapuram. The LDF has lauded the “eradication of extreme poverty” as its flagship achievement in the crucial election year.

In July, CPI(M) External Affairs Minister MV Govindan had called on KAHWA to join the national strike called by Left unions demanding that the Central government-controlled NHM give worker status to ASHAs instead of volunteers. However, while KAHWA objected, other ASHAs affiliated with LDF also joined the national strike.

The CPI(M) then named KAHWA as the face of the anti-government rainbow alliance formed by the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and some “anarchist” groups.

The state government has increased the monthly fee for ASHAs to ₹ 7,000. A five-member committee was also formed to examine their demands. The government had also waived certain criteria for salary payments after KAHWA representatives met with Health Minister Veena George.