The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Veliyam criticises UDF move to hold hartal

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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Veliyam criticises UDF move to hold hartal

Special Correspondent

Says there is no rationale for protest against an all-India phenomenon

Says Union government is insensitive to the issue
“Government has taken steps to check rise in prices of essential commodities”

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Communist Party of India (CPI) State secretary Veliyam Bhargavan has termed the United Democratic Front (UDF) decision to organise a hartal on February 19 in the name of price rise a move meant to hoodwink the people.

In a statement here on Friday, Mr. Bhargavan said there was no rationale for the hartal when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was of the view that price rise was a global phenomenon and Congress president Sonia Gandhi had admitted at the All India Congress Committee session that price rise was acute in the entire country.

The Union government had the duty to check the price spiral, but it was totally insensitive to the issue.

If the prices of essentials could be held at a reasonable level in Kerala, it was only on account of the steps taken by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.

The rise in the price of rice in the State was due mainly to the Centre’s decision to cut Kerala’s ration quota and exclude lakhs of families from the BPL list.

Ration quota

The reduction in Kerala’s ration quota was of the order of 93,000 tonnes. Neither the UDF nor the Congress leadership had so far sought restoration of the ration quota, he alleged.

Mr. Bhargavan said the government was doing its best to provide adequate funds for market intervention by the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) and other State agencies. Rice and other 12 items were being sold through the public distribution network at subsidised prices.

The losses arising from the measure were being borne by the government, he said, adding that the people would certainly see through the Opposition’s ostrich-like attitude towards the Centre’s policies.

Staff Reporter writes from Pala: The controversy over HMT Ltd. land deal was yet another effort to tarnish the image of the Communist Party of India (CPI), which was poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the contours of political topography of the nation in the coming days, party leader K.E. Ismail, MP, has said.

Bid to tarnish party

Inaugurating the Kottayam district conference of the party here on Friday, Mr. Ismail said there was a concerted effort to blacken the image of the party with the help of a section of the media during the past few years and the allegations on the alleged land grab in Munnar followed by the Merchiston land deal and topped by the recent HMT land deal were part of this campaign, he said.

“The party which has spearheaded the land reforms and made millions of people proud owners of their own pieces of land will not be affected in any way through such smear campaigns,” Mr. Ismail said.

Pivotal role

The Indian political scene was passing through a crucial period and the CPI and the Left parties would have to play a pivotal role in shaping the political destiny of the nation, he said.

The CPI was the only communist party which had its presence in all the States. The inaugural session was followed by the delegates’ meet. The five-day meet would be attended by 395 delegates and 10 special invitees. The conference would elect the new district committee and the contingent for the State conference.

District meets

Six of the district conferences were already over and three district conferences of Pathanamthitta, Malappuram and Kottayam got under way on Friday. The session will continue on Saturday.

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