UDF to launch agitation against Left Front Govt. in Kerala

Kochi, Dec 18 (UNI) Castigating the Left Democratic Front in Kerala for allegedly providing a lacklusture and unresponsive government, the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) today announced the launch of an agitation against its ''misrule''.

Briefing mediapersons after a meeting of the UDF liaison committee here, UDF Convenor P P Thankachan said that a meeting of the UDF liaison committee would be held on January 3 in Thiruvananthapuram to chalk out the detailed programme of the agitation.

District-level chairpersons and convenors of the UDF will attend the meeting, he added.

Accusing the LDF Government of all-round failure, Mr Thankachan said the prices of essential commodities had sky-rocketed in the past six months. While the earlier UDF government had given subsidy through the civil supplies corporation to check any price rise, the LDF had not come forth with any such measures.

He also charged the LDF with vitiating the atmosphere in the state by unleashing political violence. There had been a series of clashes between the LDF and the RSS-BJP activists in Thrissur recently.

''The LDF activists are attacking the opponents with the government's protection and support,'' he alleged.

Charging the LDF with practising double standards, Mr Thankachan said while earlier the Left parties had opposed the UDF government's decision to go in for ADB loans, the LDF government had now accepted the loans with the very same conditions.

The UDF meeting was attended by the leaders of all the front constituents including the Congress, the IUML, Kerala Congress (M), Kerala Congress (B) and the JSS.

Later, talking to newspersons, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Ramesh Chennithala reiterated the demand for the resignation of state health minister P K Sreemathy.

Stating that the health department was floundering under her administration, Mr Chennithala said while earlier she had failed to react effectively to the Chikungunya outbreak, now Mr Shreemathy had not been able to give a convincing explanation for the death of a school girl following a tetanus vaccination camp.

UNI ARC VV VD RS1727