PM to visit Kerala before July

New Delhi, May 30 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Kerala before July to lay foundation stone for the proposed Railway coach factory in Palakkad, Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said here today.

Mr Achuthanandan told mediapersons after his meeting with Dr Singh that the Prime Minister had also agreed to lay the foundation stone for the Indian Institute of Science and Educational Research (IISER) and the Indian Institute of Space Technology in Thiruvananthapuram during the visit.

Dr Singh will also visit Thrissur where he will declare Kerala Kalamandalam as a deemed university.

Mr Achuthanandan said he had raised the delay in giving clearance for the Rs 1840 crore agricultural package for Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala.

Dr Singh asked Mr Achuthanandan to submit a detailed project report so that the clearance could be expedited.

Mr Achuthanandan also raised the issue of the promised Rs 1726 crore agricultural package for Idukki.

The Chief Minister brought to the notice of Dr Singh the ongoing agitation by about 500 Indians before the Indian embassy in the US demanding action against a recruiting company which cheated them.

"Dr Singh has agreed to look into this issue," Mr Achuthanandan said.

Asked for his reaction on the statement of the BJP daring CPI(M) State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan to disclose the details of his assets, Mr Achuthanandan said, "It seems that the action taken by the government against some suspecting godmen had apparently irked the BJP and the RSS." He said Mr Vijayan had assets only to the tune of what other publicmen had.

UNI SH HS US1753