Southern States - Kerala

My intervention helped solve stir: Karunakaran
By Our Staff Reporter

THRISSUR, MARCH 15. The senior Congress leader, K. Karunakaran, has said that it is his timely intervention that prevented the striking pro-UDF Government employees and teachers from joining the Left camp.

Talking to presspersons here today, Mr. Karunakaran said that had he not interfered at the appropriate moment in the just concluded strike, things could have become more complex. ``I brought the tempers of the frustrated employees down. If I had not intervened, they would have definitely joined the Left camp,'' he said.

He said that the budget presented by the State Government in the Assembly was not of the UDF. He was doubtful about the source of the budget when he saw a lot of mistakes in it. ``Later, the Finance Minister, K. Sankaranarayanan, has himself stated that it was his own budget, my doubts were cleared,'' Mr. Karunakaran said.

He asked sarcastically whether the State could get a more efficient Finance Minister than Mr. Sankaranarayanan. Mr. Karunakaran said that he had earlier said that the leave surrender benefits of class-IV employees and police personnel should be granted.

``This would have only incurred an additional expense of Rs. 1.5 crores this year and a total of Rs. 13 crores the next year. But the Chief Minister, A. K. Antony, did not heed to this,'' he said.

He, however, refused to reply to the statement of the Congress leader, Vayalar Ravi, that it was Mr. Karunakaran who was behind the recent stir by Government employees, by saying that it did not deserve any comment.

According to him, dies non was essential and should not be scrapped. "Dies non is necessary and if it is not there unnecessary strikes will increase," he said.

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