Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 12 (IANS): The Kerala unit of Congress on Monday tore into the Kerala government after a 11-year-old mute boy was mauled to death by stray dogs in Kannur -- Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's home town.

Accusing the chief minister and his government of "only rhetoric" and "no action",  Leader of Opposition V.D.Satheesan said that the Opposition has been raising the grave issue since long but it was not addressed.

"The Vijayan government is responsible for the death of Nihal Naushad. We had raised this grave issue on the floor of the Assembly for which we were ridiculed. All the assurances given by the government and the various state ministers on this issue was nothing but rhetoric. Last year, a similar incident had taken place at the same area where Nihal was mauled last night," said Satheesan.

"At many places, the people are scared to move out of their homes and the situation has risen because of the callousness of the Vijayan administration and the lack of coordination between various departments. They have failed to tackle the waste and garbage, which are the resting places of stray dogs. It's been three years since the dogs' sterilization programme has come to a halt. The much-lauded ABC programme has failed to take off and barring rhetoric, no action has taken place and hence the

11-year-old lost his life," said Satheesan.

This morning, the body which bore numerous bite injuries, was sent for autopsy.

The family is now waiting for the arrival of the boy's father who works in the Middle East.