The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Development hit: Hassan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 10, 2007
ePaper

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Development hit: Hassan

Special Correspondent

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson M.M. Hassan on Sunday alleged that the squabbles in the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was scuttling the State’s development.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Hassan said the squabbles had brought the development sector to a grinding halt. The LDF had lost its ideological unity, with various constituents openly criticising each other. Mr. Hassan criticised Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac for refusing to release funds for various development activities. Referring to the row between the Finance Minister and Agriculture Minister Mullakara Ratnakaran over the crop insurance scheme, Mr. Hassan said the Finance Minister was compressing expenditure. He said that the State was able to spend only 25 per cent of the current’s year’s Plan allocation. For the local bodies, it was as low as 6 per cent.

He sought the ouster of Food and Civil Supplies Minister C. Divakaran for suggesting that the people should eat eggs and drink milk if the price of rice was high. CPI leader Veliyam Bharghavan had promised that the Minister would correct himself, but Mr. Divakaran continued to repeat the statements, Mr. Hassan said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala