Achuthanandan was right; ADB agreement failed procedures: Karat

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 11 (UNI) Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Prakash Karat today supported Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan in the ongoing controversy within the CPI(M) over the issue of signing an agreement with the Asian Development Bank(ADB) without the latter's knowledge.

''The government has not followed the actual procedures while signing the agreement with the ADB for urban development. It is a violation of procedures and Mr Achutanandan is correct in his statement that he is not aware of the agreement,'' he told reporters here.

The Chief Minister was not aware of the final draft of the agreement and it was not discussed at the Cabinet, Mr Karat said adding the Chief Minister was also not in a position to get cabinet approval as the agreement had been signed by that time.

Calling on party to ensure that such things did not happen in the future, he said the changes that were made in the agreement would be made public and would also be discussed at the Left Democratic Front. The final agreement on ADB loan would be only after all these discussions, he added.

The ADB issue had hit the headlines after Mr Achutanandan said that he was not aware of the agreement that was signed at New Delhi last month.

Meanwhile, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac and Local Administration Minister Paloli Mohammed Kutty countered the Chief Minister's statement saying Mr Achutanandan was aware of the agreement.

Mr Karat, who was here to attend the Party State Secretariat and state commitee meeting, said the ADB issue was discussed at the party secretariat when the LDF was in opposition but as they were in the government, it should have been discussed in the Cabinet before a final decision was taken.

On ADB loans, he said the CPI(M) was not opposed to ADB loans but the terms and conditions should be looked into.

The Party congress had laid out a framework on the procedures to be adopted when it came to the question of loans from international financial institutions and the state units should adhere to them while accepting financial assistance from international institutions.

Stressing that ''coordination'' between the party in Kerala and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government led by it in the state should improve, he also expressed displeasure at the contradictory statements of the ministers.

He also said the five-member committee appointed by the Politburo for examining the day-to-day functions of the cabinet and party in Kerala should be strengthened and also bet asked to convene regular meetings.

UNI