The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : `Decision on NCP was taken earlier'

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Thursday, Dec 14, 2006
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

`Decision on NCP was taken earlier'

Special Correspondent

Delay in decision attributed to leaders' inability to sit together and discuss the issue

Vaikom Viswan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener Vaikom Viswan has said that the decision to keep the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) out of the ruling alliance was taken much earlier.

Mr. Viswan told a news conference here on Wednesday that the NCP could have no place in the ruling Front after it had merged with the Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran) as the LDF wished to have nothing to do with the latter. It did not, of course, keep it in isolation when it came forward to work against the United Democratic Front (UDF), but that did not automatically imply that it was acceptable to the LDF.

The LDF convener said the decision to keep the NCP out of the ruling Front got delayed by a month because of the LDF leaders' inability to sit together and discuss the issue. He was himself unavailable for a week. At Thiruvambadi, the NCP had decided to run an independent campaign and the LDF had not objected to it. Although the LDF did not refuse the benefits of such campaigning, it had all along made it clear that there was no question of accommodating the NCP in the LDF, he said.

Mr. Viswan did not think that the recent controversies relating to the Government would not divert public attention from the major initiatives launched by it to provide support to the debt-ridden farmers, to streamline higher education, to revive traditional industries and public sector units and to enforce law and order in the State.

Replying to a question, he said if Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan had insisted on knowing details of all the decisions taken by the Government, it could be only because of his eagerness to keep abreast of things.

Referring to the ADB loan package for urban renewal, Mr. Viswan said the LDF had decided earlier that conditions that militated against the interests of the State and the people should not form part of the agreement. It had thus insisted on retention of public taps against the wishes of the ADB and sought removal of the condition for levying of charges for water supplied through public taps. He was not in a position to say if all the necessary changes had been effected in the final agreement, the LDF convener said and added that he could not also comment on Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy's claim that the agreement had not been altered in anyway since he had not seen the document in its final form.

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