The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : UDF issues ‘charge sheet’

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Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

UDF issues ‘charge sheet’

Special Correspondent

Opposition front holds first pre-election activity

Says government has reneged on poll promises
Alleges yielding to terrorist activities

Thiruvananthapuram: The Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) held people’s assemblies at important centres in the State on Tuesday and issued a ‘charge sheet’ against what it called the anti-people Left Democratic Front government.

Prominent leaders of the front inaugurated the people’s assemblies in various districts to present the ‘charge sheets,’ setting off the Opposition’s first pre-election activity.

Releasing the ‘charge sheet’ here, P.P. Thankachan, convener of the front, said future agitations would be based on the ‘charge sheet,’ prepared from facts and figures gleaned from Assembly records.

He said people had been enduring misrule for the past two-and-a-half years to the day. The government functioned only for the party and party men, forgetting issues that affected people.

“The Cabinet has lost its collective responsibility. The main reason for the government’s failure is the schism in the CPI-M [Communist Party of India-Marxist] and the worst part is that it is deepening further,” he said.

The government had deliberately lost several court cases, but paid high fees to counsels, he added.

The 20-page ‘charge sheet’ has been prepared by a subcommittee comprising Mr. Thankachan; C.P. John, Communist Marxist Party leader; and Kerala Congress (Jacob) leader T.M. Jacob. It accuses the government of reneging on election promises and failure to arrest the price rise. It alleges increasing tariffs, deteriorating law and order situation, increasing terrorist activities, corruption, development stagnation, misdirected educational reforms, industrial and agriculture crises and the dubious role of the land mafia.

The charge sheet says no concrete measures has been taken to help farmers facing a crash in prices of produce. It blames the Kerala State Karshaka Thozhilali Union of the CPI(M) for the crisis in the fields of Kuttanad, with farmers suffering a loss of Rs.222 crore.

Debt relief

No take steps have been taken to implement the recommendations of the Farmers’ Debt Relief Commission. More than 160 farmers have committed suicide, say figures tabled in the Assembly. The budgetary outlay for agriculture has come down from 6.71 per cent to 5.3 per cent.

The charge sheet says the government has bowed its head to terrorist activities because of its obligation to communal forces that help it capture power in the previous Assembly elections. It is unable to take action owing to the covert and overt ties with communal organisations, such as the People’s Democratic Party and the National Democratic Front, despite their terror links. Kerala has become a haven for such elements only because of the ruling front’s encouragement.

The ‘charge sheet’ says Ministers and activists of the Democratic Youth Federation of India have forcibly released accused persons from custody. It alleges attempts to create party factions in the police.

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