UDF blames it on both govts.

January 03, 2017 08:44 pm | Updated January 04, 2017 12:19 am IST - Thiruvananthapuram:

The United Democratic Front (UDF) on Tuesday decided to shift gear and picket Raj Bhavan and district Collectorates over the next three weeks as part of its agitation against the Central and State governments’ unpopular policies, including demonetisation, and disruption of ration supply to name a few.

The Raj Bhavan picketing by those involved in the cooperative sector will be held on January 18. The picketing of Collectorates will be held on January 24 under the auspices of UDF district liaison committees. This will be followed by a State-level “Samara Prakyapana” convention on February 1 under the auspices of the UDF State leadership at Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.

The UDF will organise four campaign marches from February 4. A subcommittee headed by M.M. Hassan will organise these marches. Its first meeting will be held on January 10. The leadership meetings of the 14 district liaison committees will be convened from January 7 to January 21. All senior leaders, with Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala in the forefront, will attend these meetings.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Chennithala pinpointed the failures of the Centre and State governments that prompted the UDF to resort to the protests. The UDF refrained from calling for a hartal as it did not want to add to the misery of the people even though the situation warranted it.

While the Central government was responsible for the hardships caused by demonetisation, the State government added to the woes through its indifference in settling the ration disruption and the KSRTC crisis. There were several steps it could have taken to reduce the burden of the people.

The Chief Minister and his colleagues seemed to be mere spectators in a gallery, Mr. Chennithala said. “Some of the issues required the Chief Minister’s intervention, but unfortunately, it was not forthcoming,” he said. Mr. Vijayan had lost control of the police force going by the reckless manner in which it was functioning.

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