Kerala Congress (KC) chairman P.J. Joseph here on Sunday called on the Union and State governments to end the apathy towards arresting the fall in natural rubber prices.
Inaugurating the 59th formation day of the Kerala Congress, Mr. Joseph said that the State government had not taken any steps to fulfil its election promise of procuring rubber at a base price of ₹250.
“Prices of all agricultural crops have fallen sharply and price support schemes have been limited to announcements. This has triggered the collapse of the Kerala economy even as the public debt of the State has soured to ₹4 lakh crore,” he said.
Prior to the meeting, Mr. Joseph hoisted the party flag in front of the organisation’s State committee office in Kottayam. Kerala Congress working chairman P.C. Thomas presided over the event.
Role of regional parties
The Kerala Congress (M) led by Jose K. Mani organised the party formation day celebrations at the Mammen Mappila Hall, Kottayam. Addressing the gathering, Mr. Mani said regional parties held the power to veto communal forces in the country.
Upholding the need for constituting a broad democratic secular alliance of regional parties and the Left against the Bharatiya Janata Party, Mr. Mani said that the political model of Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala would serve as a guide in this regard. He also called on the party workers to work towards expanding the mass base of the LDF.
Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine presided over the meeting, which also witnessed election of its new office-bearers. The meeting also condoled the death of Communist Party of India (Marxist) former State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. It was for the first time that the KC(M) was formally expressing condolence over the death of a leader of another political party.
The function organised by Kerala Congress (Jacob) was inaugurated by party leader Anoop Jacob, MLA. Party chairman Vakkanad Radhakrishnan presided.
