Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

STF reconstitution to divert public attention, says KPCC

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has accused the State government of diverting public attention from the Ponmudi land deal by setting up the third Munnar Special Task Force (STF) to carry out evictions.

KPCC spokesman M.M. Hassan said the setting up of a new task force only exposed the government which had failed to order an inquiry into Forest Minister Benoy Viswom’s role in the Ponmudi land deal. The new task force did not have any role to play in the backdrop of the recognition given to “Ravindran pattayam” mainly to exempt the CPI (M) and the CPI’s offices from the eviction process. “The KPCC views this as a political stunt,” he said.

The UDF and the Congress would continue their agitations seeking the Forest Minister’s resignation. The State government had not lost time in ordering a judicial probe into the former Public Works Minister T.U. Kuruvilla’s land deals. The Merchiston Estate deal was entirely different and more serious, Mr. Hassan said.

The KPCC leadership meeting on October 15 in Kochi and the UDF High Power Committee meeting on October 17 in Thiruvananthapuram would finalise the next stage of agitation seeking the Forest Minister’s resignation, he said.

The KPCC registered its protest at the unilateral way in which the government set up a committee to study the Sachar Committee report. Mr. Hassan said the Central government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had already taken steps to implement the Sachar Committee recommendations in Central services.

The government had decided to set up a non-official panel that had political motives. “There is a lot of speculation about mid-term elections. The CPI (M) and the LDF wants to make political gains,” Mr. Hassan said.

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