An action committee leading the agitation for the revival of the Comtrust Weaving Factory staged a protest in front of the factory at Mananchira on Tuesday.
The committee urged the government to announce the steps it planned to reopen the factory.
During the demonstration, which was inaugurated by CPI leader Pannian Ravindran, speakers expressed concern at the attitude of government to the plight of Comtrust factory workers and wondered if the UDF continued to support the demand for the take over of the factory through legislation, which it had supported when in the Opposition.
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It was pointed out that the previous LDF government had issued an ordinance taking over the factory but it was returned by the Centre advising the government to present it as a Bill in the Assembly instead.
However, the Bill could not be presented in the Assembly since the Assembly elections were announced by then.
The action committee is aggrieved at the delay on the part of the UDF government to take up the Bill despite assurances from UDF leaders.
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A fast in front of the Secretariat by the action committee after the UDF came to power was called off after 11 days following an assurance from the Chief Minister that the demand would be considered without delay.
However, the action committee believed that the Bill was unlikely to be taken up even at the ongoing Assembly session, joint convener P. Sivaprakash said, defending the decision to revive the protest.
“We suspect a land lobby is trying to scuttle the takeover of the Comtrust factory,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.