ALAPPUZHA: The State Government has failed to obtain from the Union Government an amount of more than Rs.100 crores that it had promised as aid to the next of kin of farmers who had committed suicide, the Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan said.

Speaking at a meeting organised at Punnapra on the occasion of the Punnapra-Vayalar Week observance, Mr. Achuthanandan said the Union Government had promised aid of Rs. 1 lakh each to the relatives of farmers who had committed suicide. The Opposition leader said more than 1,200 farmers had committed suicide in the State during the rule of the UDF Government. But, the State Government maintains that only 215 farmers had committed suicide, said Mr. Achuthanandan.

Mr. Achuthanandan said the UDF Government had subverted the development and welfare measures implemented by the LDF Government. Farmers in the State were in a debt trap and traditional industries were being destroyed. Services provided by the Health and Education sectors too faced the threat of closure, he said.

Mr. Achuthanandan said the defeat of the UDF in the Ernakulam bypoll, the last Lok Sabha elections and the recent local body elections was the result of the policies followed by the UDF Government.

He said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy should resign in the wake of the verdicts of the Kerala High Court and other courts in the State on various actions of the State Government. Mr. Achuthanandan exhorted the people to organise a massive struggle against the Oommen Chandy Government. CPI (M) district secretary G. Sudhakaran, C.S. Sujata and K.S. Manoj, MPs, spoke at the function.

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