Kerala - Kozhikode   

Unnikrishnan backs Chandy on Pillai-Jacob issue

By Our Staff Reporter

KOZHIKODE, SEPT. 12. Endorsing the Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy's statement on keeping the Kerala Congress(B) and Kerala Congress (Jacob) out of the new United Democratic Front (UDF) Ministry, the Congress leader, K.P. Unnikrishnan, today said that both the political parties had been unofficially informed about the decision of the Congress high command.

Complaints about the functioning of these parties during the Lok Sabha elections had prompted the Congress high command to take such a step. All other constituents had also been apprised of the decision though unofficially, Mr. Unnikrishnan said at a news conference here.

Pat for Chandy

While lauding the political maturity of Mr. Chandy, he said that the new team of Ministers from the Congress had been considered above factional politics. Mr. Chandy was acceptable to all the groups and that he would be able to wriggle out of current crisis in the State, Mr Unnikrishnan said. A.K. Antony had no other choice but to step down from the Chief Minister's post following the rout of the party in the Lok Sabha elections.

The Congress cannot function to appease the senior leader, K. Karunakaran, and his daughter, Padmaja Venugopal, he replied when asked to comment on Mr. Karunakaran's displeasure with the Cabinet reshuffle. Groupism had not helped the party to grow, Mr. Unnikrishnan added.

He feigned ignorance about the post of Kerala's ministerial representative at the Centre being offered to him.

"No one has asked me to take charge of such a post and had ever discussed about such an appointment,'' he said.

Criticises Left, BJP

He criticised the Left parties for attempting to blackmail the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre by questioning the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, for engaging experts from the World Bank in the Commission.

"From 1950 onwards, the Planning Commission had been inviting foreign agencies for talks. Economist from Poland and Soviet Union had also been called to India.

The present controversy is only to tarnish the image of Mr. Ahluwalia,'' he said.

Mr. Unnikrishnan also came down heavily on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for presenting a memorandum to the Prime Minister to make amendments to the Finance Bill. It was a breach of Parliamentary proceedings.

The BJP should have had given a notice in Parliament if it wanted to make amendments in the Finance Bill.

Instead they had boycotted the discussions on the Bill, he said.

The RSS and the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Uma Bharati, had no right to raise the issue of flag hoisting, because all these years they were demanding a change in the national flag.

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