Kerala - Kottayam   

Sudheeran: ads smack of political corruption

Staff Reporter

`The firms were chosen selectively'

KOTTAYAM: The Congress leader and former M.P. from Alappuzha V. M. Sudheeran has alleged that the selection of major advertisements on the pages of the three-volume abstracts of the proceedings of the International Congress on Kerala Studies gives a clear pointer to political corruption.

Speaking to media persons here on Monday, Mr. Sudheeran said the advertisements of firms dealing with the controversial mineral sand-mining, tea plantation companies and the hotel chain which controlled the controversial plot in Kovalam, against which Opposition Leader V. S. Achuthanandan had led a crusade, were prominently displayed on the pages of these volumes. "These firms were chosen selectively and nobody will believe there was no political corruption involved in this move," he said.

Alleging that this was part of the `corporatisation' of the CPI(M), Mr. Sudheeran said it was unfortunate that the party, which boasts of the traditions of personalities like A. K. Gopalan and speaks in the name of the working class, was shedding its value system. The presence of such advertisements would send a wrong message to Kerala society, he said.

Reacting to another question, the Congress leader said there was a `mineral sand front' functioning cutting across political parties spread over the three political coalitions in the State. He also denied allegations that his opposition to mineral sand-mining was part of `negative politics,' but added that it was part of his campaign in favour of certain causes.

He called upon the State Government to bring about a clear decision on the issue soon, positively before the expiry of the UDF term. According to him, without a proper credible, comprehensive study on the environmental impact, no force on earth would be able to take up mining in the area. Referring to illegal sand-mining in these areas, Mr. Sudheeran said it was up to the Department of Mining and Geology to put an end to the illegal activity.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Sudheeran: ads smack of political corruption

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu