Ramesh Chennithala, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, has said that the United Democratic Front (UDF) is ready to hold talks with the Nair Service Society (NSS) and the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam if they have any grievances against the State government.
At a press conference here on Sunday, he said that the ruling front was willing to discuss the grievances of any sections of people.
Charges denied
To a question on the allegations raised by the two organisations that Kerala was ruled by minority communities, neglecting the interest of the majority communities, Mr. Chennithala said, “The Congress is a secular party and its government looks after the interests of all sections of society. It is not there to appease any community or political party working on a communal agenda.”
On the demand of the NSS that its nominee be included in the Cabinet, he said it was the Chief Minister’s prerogative to add a member to his Cabinet.
CPI(M) strife
Mr. Chennithala said the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was facing serious internal differences. Proof of these was the statement of Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan in Thrissur on Saturday that it would be against the Marxist ideology if the majority neglected the opinion of the minority.
He said the stand of CPI(M) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan that the minority section should accept all decisions of the majority in the party, if applied when the CPI had split in 1964, could not have led to the formation of the CPI(M).
On Attappady deaths
Mr. Chennithala expressed his anguish at the malnutrition death of tribal children in Attappady.
Welcoming the steps taken to solve the situation by the government, he demanded compensation for the families for the loss of their children.
He said the government should set up a high-level monitoring committee to ensure that the benefits of its schemes reached the target group in Attappady.
