Kerala - Kochi   

UDF seeks rice at Rs.2 a kg

KOCHI: The Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) will observe May 18, second anniversary of the Left Democratic Front government, as “Vanchana Dinam” (day of betrayal) to protest against what it calls the government’s “total failure” in solving people’s problems.

This was decided at a meeting of the UDF committee here on Tuesday.

Briefing newspersons on the meeting’s decisions, P.P. Thankachan, convener of the front, said no government in the past had earned “so much ire of the people in so short a time.”

He said the government had let down all sections of people with its failures on the food, price control and education fronts.

The reforms envisaged in the education sector had drawn flak from most people. The single-window system proposed for admission to Plus One courses in the State higher secondary stream would turn out to be dangerous, as it would affect the standard of education.

Before introducing the system, he said, the government should have consulted all sections of people concerned with education and evolved a consensus.

The meeting set up a subcommittee to study the system. The subcommittee, headed by the former Education Minister E.T. Mohammed Basheer, would meet on May 10. G. Karthikeyan, C.F. Thomas and T.M. Jacob were among its members.

Mr. Thankachan said the government had not taken steps to bring down the prices and provide food security. The UDF had, he said, warned six months ago that a food crisis was waiting to happen and suggested that the government procure rice from West Bengal, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh to build up a buffer stock. But the government did not heed the warning.

He said even a relatively poor State such as Chattisgarh had set aside Rs.800 crore to buy foodgrains in anticipation of the shortage. In Kerala, the Ministers from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and those from the Communist Party of India differed over steps for food security. The Ministers’ squabbles had stepped up officials’ lethargy and corruption.

Mr. Thankachan wanted the government to supply rice through the public distribution system at Rs.2 a kg as was being done in Andhra Pradesh.

He said that on May 18, the UDF constituents would hold protest meetings and rallies at the panchayat level. In the following week, protest meetings would be held at the district level.

On May 20, MLAs belonging to the front would stage a dharna in front of the Secretariat to protest against what he called the “slow pace” of the government.

Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala, M.V. Raghavan, K.M. Mani, P.K. Kunhalikkutty, Johny Nelloor, K.B. Ganesh Kumar, Mr. Basheer, Mr. Jacob and Mr. Karthikeyan, leaders of various UDF constituents, were among those who attended the meeting.

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