Kerala - Kannur   

CPI(M) holds rally at stadium

Staff Reporter

UPA Government appeasing imperialist designs of the United States: Pinarayi

PEOPLE POWER: Communist Party of India(Marxist) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurating the party's district rally at the Jawahar Municipal Stadium in Kannur on Thursday.

KANNUR: The uncertainty over the district rally of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) at the Municipal Jawahar Stadium here on Thursday ended with a court order allowing the party to hold a public function in the stadium in the evening.

The uncertainty over the rally started when the Principal Munsif Court here issued an interim order restraining the CPI(M) workers from entering the stadium on Thursday. The court issued the order in the morning upholding former wrestling champion V.V. Sathyanandan's plea that the stadium should not be permitted to hold functions other than sports events.

The petitioner cited an agreement in this regard executed by the municipality with the State Sports Council which sanctioned Rs.19 lakh for the renovation of the stadium. The legal recourse followed a series of actions preceding the day of the rally after the municipality denied permission to the CPI(M) leadership to use the stadium for holding the rally citing the municipal council's unanimous resolution that the stadium be only given for holding sports events.

The CPI(M)'s confrontation with the United Democratic Front (UDF) controlled municipal council over the issue was apparently averted when the former secured a Government order on August 29 allowing it use the stadium for holding the rally. The order raised criticism that the Government had no authority to change decisions of local body councils.

The Principal Munsif Court's order on Thursday cast a shadow of uncertainty over the holding of the rally in which Ministers, including Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, were scheduled to attend. The party rushed to appeal to the District and Sessions Court to stay the lower court's order. Judge S. Satheenath in his order allowed the rally to be held as per the Government order dated August 29.

A large number of party workers attended the rally organised as part of the CPI(M)'s nation-wide campaign against `pro-imperialist' policies of the United Progressive Alliance Government. Inaugurating the rally, CPI(M) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said the Congress-led Government at the Centre was pursuing policies that amounted to appeasing imperialist designs of the United States. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was working as an agent of the U.S. imperialism, he said adding that this pro-imperialist attitude was behind the obstacles put against the Vizhinham harbour development project and the scuttling of the proposed Iran gas pipeline project. Alleging U.S. pressure behind these decisions, Mr. Vijayan said the Congress threw to the winds the assurance of an independent foreign policy.

``The UPA Government is following the policies of the previous Vajpayee Government'', Mr. Vijayan said adding that the Congress-led Government failed to take action against communal threat in the country. Some minority communities continued to feel alienated because of the Government's actions.

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