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Tuesday, Aug 12, 2008
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CPI(M) controlling administration: Chandy

Special Correspondent

Thiruvananthapuram: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is solely responsible for the two-year-old Left Democratic Front government’s failures and the party’s State committee is trying to put the blame on Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy has said.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Mr. Chandy said the party had taken full control of the State administration. For the last two years, the party and the government were at loggerheads. Now, the former had taken firm control of the administration, making the Chief Minister and his Ministers irrelevant, he said.

Responding to the CPI(M) State committee’s directives on development for the next three years, the Opposition leader said he did not subscribe to ‘oblique references in the party statement that the Chief Minister was an extremist.’ “I am of the view that he (the Chief Minister) talks through his hat. He has opposed every development effort while he was the Leader of the Opposition. But as Chief Minister, he has miserably failed to address issues,” Mr. Chandy said.

Welcoming the CPI(M)’s ‘policy change,’ Mr. Chandy said the party had finally come around to the United Democratic Front’s (UDF) line of thinking in terms of development. “But a mere change in policies alone would not be enough. The approach towards issues should also change if the policies are to succeed at a practical level” he said.

Mr. Chandy said the CPI(M) State committee had sought the Opposition’s support to the very same project that the UDF had promoted during its tenure. There was hardly any constructive proposal that the UDF had not supported. It had opposed the Merchiston estate deal and the HMT land sale because the government had gone on the wrong track, he said.

He criticised Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac for ‘going back’ on the assurance to provide relief to distressed farmers as per the recommendations of the Farmers Debt Relief Commission. He was trying to mix up the farm package announced by the Centre and the debt relief announced by the State government, Mr. Chandy said.

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