The Kerala government should respect the Supreme Court verdict on the Mullaperiyar dam issue permitting Tamil Nadu to raise the water level from 136 to 142 feet, and then come forward for negotiations, according to Communist Party of India State secretary D. Pandian.
He told reporters here on Friday that the issue should be settled peacefully without creating any animosity between the people of the two States. He was disclosing the resolutions passed at the State executive committee meeting, which concluded here on Thursday.
Price rise
He said that the party, along with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Revolutionary Socialist Party and Forward Bloc, would conduct a conference in Chennai on October 7 against the exorbitant rise in prices of essential commodities.
“Senior political leaders like A.B. Bardhan and Prakash Karat will participate in the event,” he said.
According to him, the Manmohan Singh-led government had failed miserably to control the price hike despite their tall promises to bring down prices of essential commodities within 100 days upon assuming office in this term.
“Promotion of forward and futures trading by the Central government has paved the way for speculative price increases,” he said.
The Central government should take steps to stop the export of food grains like wheat and maize, if they were keen to arrest the price rise.
By-election defeat
Mr. Pandian said that the State executive elaborately analysed the poor performance of the CPI candidates in Bargur and Srivaikundam Assembly constituencies during the recent by-elections.
“The defeat is mainly due to some stance taken by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam that misled the people,” he said.
Fishermen
He said that the Centre should strengthen the Coast Guard’s activity to protect Indian fishermen from attacks by the Sri Lankan navy. On the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, he said that the government in the island nation should rehabilitate at the earliest all Tamils living in refugee camps.
