The charges raised against Janasree Mission chairman M.M. Hassan are part of a smear campaign, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said.
Speaking to mediapersons here on Wednesday, Mr. Chandy said the State government had not extended any financial assistance to Janasree Mission. The mission had made use of funds available under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) of the Union government. The scheme was meant for the social sector and several organisations had used this facility as it was available only for self-help groups, the Chief Minister said.
During the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s rule, several organisation had tapped funds available under Union government schemes. The LDF leaders’ allegation about Mr. Hassan’s shareholding was due to a lack of understanding of the structure of the Janasree mission. In any case, the LDF leaders should accept Mr. Hassan’s challenge to prove the alleged charges against him, Mr. Chandy said.
In reply to a question on Kudumbasree, Mr. Chandy said Kudumbashree was a government-sponsored programme and his government’s policy was to extend maximum support to it. The UDF governments could take full credit for providing maximum funds to this poverty-alleviation project, he added. He also called upon Left leaders to explain their ‘intolerant’ attitude towards Janasree Mission.
