Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan has said that the shortage of suitable candidates in the Congress during the recent Lok Sabha elections led to the by-poll to be held on November 7, which in turn was imposing a heavy, unnecessary burden on the State exchequer apart from causing inconvenience to the public.
Addressing an election campaign meeting of the Left Democratic Front candidate in Alappuzha, G. Krishnaprasad, here on Sunday, Mr. Achuthanandan said that had the Congress been able to find persons
other than the three legislators of Alappuzha, Kannur and Ernakulam to contest on its behalf to the Parliament, the by-poll could have been avoided.
However, the LDF was determined to fight the polls since it was confident that it was doing justice to the public. The LDF Government was keeping its pre-poll promises by ensuring rice and wheat at the rate of Rs.2 a kg to 26 lakh families, by taking up distribution of land to the landless and homes to the homeless. Even during the bypolls, the LDF was not making any tall promises, but telling the public what it had already done, was doing or what was announced in the budget, all of which were aimed at the benefit of the people, he said.
Mr. Achuthanandan, who said the new generation of Congress leaders were in effect sabotaging the policies of the older generation of Congress leaders, said those in the Congress who paid tributes to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her death anniversary were themselves moving against the policies outlined by her regarding nationalized banks, the insurance sector and public sector units by attempting to privatize these.
Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran, Public Works Minister P.J. Joseph and others also spoke.
