Southern States - Kerala   

All-party meet: UDF search for consensus

By Girish Menon

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Dec. 29. An all-party conference convened by the Chief Minister, A K Antony, on Monday signals the ruling UDF's search for a consensus on development issues in the State in the backdrop of the Government's prestigious Global Investment Meet(GIM).

The conference has been charted out as a confidence-building exercise for global investors, whose constant refrain has been the lack of continuity in Government policies in a coalition set-up which has witnessed the UDF and LDF alternately ruling the State. The conference also assumes significance in the context of the widening differences in the development perceptions of the two major fronts, whether it relates to availing of ADB loans or privatisation.

The all-party conference, it appears, has been convened quite late in the day, with hardly 20 days left for the GIM. The previous months have been full of activities, with the Government leaving no stone unturned to make the GIM a milestone in its development initiatives. Road shows were organised in many parts of the country and abroad in order to attract investors.

However, somewhere down the line, the organisers of GIM could not help gathering controversies, with the result that it has been virtually forced to pull out some of the projects, such as the Kochi Industrial Water Supply Scheme, from the GIM in the face of mounting opposition.

The resolution passed by the KPCC leadership meeting on Sunday opposing the "priivatisation'' of the Periyar has clipped off one of the items on the agenda of the LDF, which had listed the project as the focal point of its opposition. The Industries Minister, P.K. Kunhalikutty, who has held a series of consultations with various segments, including the youth organisations, promptly announced that the Government would not pose the project. This has also to some extent reduced the pre-conference tensions.

The timed release of the UDF sub-committee's recommendation on public sector reforms also has been intended to blunt the Opposition agenda. Nevertheless, the Opposition has several issues it could still raise, including the demand for disclosure of the stipulations of the ADB.

There is every possibility that the all-party meeting would end like all the previous ones, with the Opposition LDF either walking out of it or terming it a farce. The UDF would make an attempt to force the issue on the Opposition and it believes that the Opposition LDF cannot wriggle out of its responsibility as a former ruling coalition which had sown the seeds for many of development initiatives picked up by the UDF Government, besides it could also be the ruling group in waiting.

The focal point of the political exercise would be aimed at the CPI(M), whose V.S. Achuthanandan, Leader of the Opposition, has been giving some sleepless nights to the ruling coalition, raising several issues, many of which appear to have touched a chord even in the ruling front.

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

Southern States

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

Stories in this Section

• Five killed in bus accident
• A pioneer in 'practical' priesthood
• `Five-day week being contemplated'
• All-party meet: UDF search for consensus

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