The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : UDF did not reject package: Chandy

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Thursday, Nov 22, 2007
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

UDF did not reject package: Chandy

Staff Reporter

Says LDF government has not yet availed itself of the benefits of the Central package
It is now trying to pass the blame

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy on Wednesday described as ‘strange’ the reported argument of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) that the previous United Democratic Front (UDF) government rejected the Central package for cooperative societies which would have led to the State getting a financial aid of about Rs.1,000 crore.

In a statement here, Mr. Chandy said the LDF government had not yet availed itself of the benefits of this package which had been approved by 18 States.

The Centre had announced a package of Rs.13,596 crore as part of its initiatives to strengthen the agriculture sector. The LDF was now trying to pass the blame for having forsaken this package on to the UDF.

The committee led by A Vaidyanathan had submitted its final report on the loan structure in the cooperative sector to the Central government in February 2006. Prior to that, the committee chief Prof Vaidyanathan had sought opinions from different sections. “I submitted some suggestions before the committee when I was the Chief Minister. These points were mentioned in the letter addressed to Finance Minister P Chidambaram on May 10, 2005. Based on that letter, LDF is now indulging in a false propaganda that the UDF rejected the package for cooperatives,” Mr. Chandy alleged. The meeting of the National Council on June 27, 2005, and the subsequent meeting of Chief Ministers on September 9 that year had discussed the problems in the cooperative sector.

The final report of the Vaidyanathan committee was submitted in February 2006, after several rounds of debates at different levels. “How anyone can demand the rejection of report eight months prior to its submission,” Mr. Chandy asked.

“I had mentioned the unique nature of the cooperative sector and the need for giving special consideration to it. Nowhere I have mentioned about the rejection of the Vaidyanathan committee report,” he said.

Pointing out that 18 States, including West Bengal and Tripura, had approved the Central package for the cooperatives, Mr. Chandy said the package contained proposals which would lead to the Centre taking over the loss of the cooperative sector till March 2004. “It will be a great betrayal to reject the package,” he said.

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