Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Speak up for Kerala, Antony told

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) general secretary T.J. Chandrachoodan has asked Defence Minister A.K. Antony to speak up for Kerala on matters such as curtailment of the State’s ration quota.

“I feel sorry to note that the Central Ministers from Kerala, particularly Defence Minister Antony, is observing silence at a time when the Centre is trying to systematically destroy Kerala’s public distribution system. He and the other two Ministers from Kerala are not making strong interventions on behalf of the State,” Prof. Chandrachoodan told a news conference here on Sunday.

The RSP leader accused the Centre of playing politics with food grains and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar of being more concerned about the Indian Premier League (IPL) than the nation’s food security. “They are playing politics to discredit the State government, possibly with the upcoming Lok Sabha elections mind,” he said and added that the Ministers from the State had the duty to rise to the defence of Kerala as their counterparts from Tamil Nadu did.

Holding the Central government guilty of having put the nation’s food security in danger by cutting down the buffer stock of food grains and by throwing farmers to the vagaries of the market, Prof. Chandrachoodan said the UPA government’s silence about U.S. President George Bush’s accusation against the people of India was most disturbing. “It is sad that the government has not so far reacted President Bush’s statement. It must immediately retort to his charge that increasing consumption by Indians was one of the main reasons for the global pressure on food articles,” he said.

Prof. Chandrachoodan said that even as the U.S. President accused India of increased food consumption, India was ranked 93rd among 119 developing countries in the Global Hunger Index. “This is nothing but senseless talk from a President whose popularity rating in his own country is worse than that of any of his predecessors,” he said.

Replying to questions, RSP general secretary said his party was of the view that there was substance in the charge of corruption against Union Minister for Surface Transport T.R. Baalu, who has been accused of having tried to get the PMO intervene to facilitate supply of gas to companies owned by his sons. “It is by now clear that the PMO had convened a meeting between Mr. Baalu and Murli Deora (the Petroleum Minister). There was thus a clear attempt to commit corruption and Mr. Baalu stands tainted. It was for the Prime Minister to decide whether he should be allowed to continue in the Cabinet,” Prof. Chandrachoodan said.

On the stand-off between the CPI(M) and CPI over the food security project, he said the delay in arriving at a decision on the issue was basically on account of divergence of perceptions on how to go about it. “It should be possible to arrive at a consensus through discussions,” Prof. Chandrachoodan said.

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