Kerala - Thrissur   

ADB loans: VS urged to clarify

— Photo: K.K. Najeeb

Show of strength: Communist Marxist Party leaders at the inauguration of the seventh Party Congress in Thrissur on Sunday.

Thrissur: Opposition Leader Oommen Chandy has urged Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan to reveal whether he would take steps to prevent the State from taking loans from the Asian Development Bank.

Mr. Achuthanandan had said on Friday that those who argued in favour of taking loans from ADB for urban development projects in the State had been proved wrong in the wake of the global economic meltdown.

Addressing the Seventh Congress of the Communist Marxist Party (CMP) here on Sunday evening, Mr. Chandy wondered whether Mr. Achuthanandan was willing to act against ADB loans.

“His statement against ADB loans is aimed at Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac. If the Chief Minister means what he says, he should announce that the State will henceforth not avail itself of an ADB loan,” Mr. Chandy said.

Communist Marxist Party leader M.V. Raghavan has said the people of Kerala are tired of Left Democratic Front (LDF) rule. Addressing the inaugural session of the Seventh Party Congress here on Sunday, he said the administration had come to a standstill. “The government is not performing even its basic duties. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan should resign assuming moral responsibility. The functioning of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) is worse. It is yet to shed its Stalinist model,” he said.

Mr. Chandy said the stand of Mr. Achuthanandan on many issues was ambiguous and vacillating.

“He utters something today and changes it tomorrow. The LDF’s claims on development are hollow. There has been no follow-up action on the SmartCity project,” Mr. Chandy said.

United Democratic Front convener P.P. Thankachan, CMP leaders C.P. John and M.K. Kannan also spoke. A rally preceded the meeting.

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