Kerala - Kollam   

Tsunami relief major poll issue

Staff Reporter

KOLLAM: The LDF candidate from the Karunagapally Assembly constituency C. Divakaran alleged that the UDF Government had failed in taking democratic steps when it came to effecting relief and rehabilitation operations at the tsunami-hit Alapad panchayat. The panchayat comes under the Karunagapally Assembly segment.

At a `meet-the-candidate' programme organised by the Kollam Press Club on Tuesday, Mr. Divakaran said the Government had no clear explanations on how the tsunami fund was utilised. He alleged that the Government was even considering to refund the Sales Tax collected on items purchased by the Mata Amritanandamayi Math for tsunami rehabilitation projects.

When pointed out that it was not Sales Tax but Value Added Tax (VAT) which was collected and that VAT has no provision for refund, Mr. Divakaran said that if the LDF came to power, he would ensure the refund of whatever tax had been collected from the Math on purchases made for tsunami rehabilitation programme at Alapad.

Mr. Divakaran said that since the past five years, Karunagapally was totally ignored. After electing the LDF for six consecutive terms, the people of Karunagapally opted for a change in the 2001 Assembly elections by electing Rajan Babu of the UDF as their MLA. But the expectations of the people were belied.

The LDF candidate said that development had taken place in Karunagapally only under the LDF rule. He promises more development for the constituency if elected. He said that he was not concentrating on the tsunami issues alone. He was addressing other general issues and tries to impress voters on the need for a change of Government. He wanted the voters of Karunagapally to play a role in bringing about a change. The UDF Government was incompetent and corrupt, he alleged. The BJP candidate Anil Vazhapally said that neither the LDF nor the UDF had brought any development to Karunagapally.

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