Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran on Saturday said the stance of the Congress on the Gadgil-Kasturirangan reports on the Western Ghats was wrong and that of the late Congress leader P.T. Thomas on the issue was correct. Thomas was with farmers, he said.
Talking to mediapersons at Thodupuzha, he said he regretted the stance taken by the party at that time. He said the party would not allow implementation of the K-Rail project at any cost. The project would lead to large financial burden on the State.
Mr Sudhakaran also justified Youth Congress activist Nikhil Paily, the first accused in the Dheeraj Rajendran murder case. He said it was not Nikhil who stabbed Dheeraj and those who were in jail were innocent. “There were no witness to the incident,’‘ he said, adding that the truth should come out.
He said the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front government had scuttled the efforts of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to develop the higher education sector in the State.
Mr. Sudhakaran said the allegations raised by former Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala during the first term of the LDF rule had remained unaddressed. He asked why the cases registered by the Central agencies had not been pursued. The cases remained only on paper.
He also alleged that former Electricity Minister M.M. Mani had allotted Kerala State Electricity Board land to the Rajakkad Service Cooperative Bank in which his son-in-law was the president to run a hydel project. An independent inquiry should be conducted into the shady deal, he said.
