UDF to launch stir against LDF govt's misrule

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 3 (UNI) The Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala will stage a one-day 'dharna' in front of the state Secretariat here on January 16, to protest against price hike, deteriorating law and order and the problems in the agriculture sector.

Talking to reporters after the UDF meeting, its convener P P Thankachan said the Left Democratic Front (LDF), which had completed seven months in office, had miserably failed to implement welfare measures.

Terming the LDF government as ''inactive and lifeless,'' he said many ministers in the government had not lived up to the expectations of the people and even failed to take decisions at crucial times, particularly in the agriculture sector and in checking the price hike.

Mr Thankachan alleged that even after 56 farmers commited suicide due to debts, the government had failed to take any appropriate measures to rescue the debt-ridden peasants.

Stating that the ongoing campaigns and agitations against the government was a 'test dose,' Mr Thankachan warned that the UDF would be forced to launch aggressive agitations if the government did not correct its failures.

He also said the UDF members in the cooperative sector would meet at Ernakulam on January 25 to draw out the strategies against the CPM(M)'s move to takeover the sector without any justification.

The UDF would also hold district conventions in February against the LDF misrule, he added.

UNI