Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram   

CPI(M) plans stir against Antony Govt.

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Aug. 11. The CPI(M) has expressed its resolve to mobilise the masses for a powerful agitation against the "anti-people policies and misdeeds'' of the UDF Government.

In a resolution adopted at a meeting of its State committee here today, the party came out with a long chargesheet against the Antony Government while taking stock of the present political situation in the State.

The Government has been accused of trying to mortgage the State to the Asian Development bank (ADB), destroy the public sector and commercialise the education sector. The growth of criminal mafias, ban on recruitments, corruption, neglect of all welfare schemes, neglect of the farm sector and spurt in cases involving atrocities against women are some of the other issues the CPI(M) holds against the Government.

The resolution said it was queer that the Antony Government should continue to grumble about financial difficulties despite having imposed on the people an additional burden of Rs. 562 crores through its budget proposals and Rs. 2,000 crores through hikes in power tariff and bus fares.

``The plea about financial difficulties is a ruse to stifle all welfare schemes and development activities and justify drawing the ADB loan agreeing to severe conditionalities,'' the resolution said.

The Government was waiting with alacrity to agree to every ADB condition just for the sake of getting a Rs. 3,600-crore loan. One by one the conditions were being fulfilled.

These included freezing the dearness allowance to the Government employees, staff retrenchment, putting the squeeze on welfare schemes, privatising public sector undertakings, lifting protection to traditional sector and imposing higher taxes on the ordinary people.

The CPI(M) said the R. C. Chowdhary Report for public sector restructuring, the Government's policies on labour, industry and information technology and the recently-enacted law for headload workers were all in line with the stipulations the ADB had given to the State Government.

The Government was doing absolutely nothing to sort out the problems in the coir, handloom, cashew, beedi and toddy sectors. Instead, it was following policies which added to the woes of these sectors.

The CPI(M) said development had virtually come to a standstill ever since the UDF had taken over the reins of the Government. Last year, the Plan had to be cut initially from Rs. 3,750 crores to Rs. 3,015 crores and then to Rs. 2,260 crores. Actually, the actual implementation of the annual Plan had come to only Rs. 1,900 crores.

Though the Budget had allocated Rs. 5,000 crores towards salaries to the Government employees and teachers, a sum of only Rs. 3,000 crores was spent for the purpose. Similarly, out of Rs. 1,250 crores allocated for the local self-governing institutions, a sum of only Rs. 400 crores was actually disbursed.

Vital sectors like Agriculture were not given the full budgetary allocations.

The crisis in the farm sector had affected not only the farmers, but also all other sections of society.

On the other hand, the criminal mafias in the State were now on the ascendance. The liquor mafia, the sand mafia, the forest mafia, the sandal mafia and the land grabbers were receiving all kinds of encouragement from the Government.

Some of the UDF leaders were directly providing protection to these criminal elements, the resolution alleged.

The recently unearthed kidney racket had shocked the very conscience of the people of the State. Atrocities against women, robberies and suicides too were on the increase under the UDF rule, the CPI(M) said.

``When the Women's Commission chairperson, Justice Sreedevi, started to look into certain allegations against some big shots, the commission itself was dissolved. This had sent out the clear message to the criminals that they can get away with anything under the Antony regime,'' the resolution said. The newly-appointed chairperson of the Women's Commission, M. Kamalam, had shown the level to which this institution had sunk, when she spoke lightly about the rape of a patient admitted with burn injuries at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital recently, the resolution said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• CPI(M) plans stir against Antony Govt.
• National Gramasree mela
• Sex racket busted
• Security guard killed
• Three policemen injured in attack
• Suryanelli victim alleges harassment by CBI
• RSS men go on the rampage at Chakkai
• Renewed effort for HC Bench
• Malaria threat over district

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu