KOTTAYAM: LDF convener Vaikom Viswan on Monday alleged that Finance Minister K M Mani has deceived the entire rubber farmers in the state by offering false promises.
Viswan was speaking after inaugurating a dharna organised by CITU state committee in front of Rubber Board headquarters in protest against steep fall in rubber price.
Viswan also alleged that Mani sabotaged the much-hyped Palazhi tyres project in Pala and thereby betrayed the investors. Viswan also launched attack against UDF government and alleged that it was the indifferent attitude of the state government that worsened the crisis of the rubber farmers. “The government has adopted a policy, which is favourable for maintaining the hegemony of the corporate world. The state government must exert pressure on the Central government to increase the import duty of rubber.
“If the government fails to control the fall in rubber price, it should come up with a rehabilitation project for the ailing farmers,” Viswan demanded. Delivering the keynote address, former Industries Minister and CITU state general secretary Elamaram Karim alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is implementing second phase of the globalisation and the ‘Acche din’ slogan of Modi will be an opportunity for the tyre lobbies to reap maximum profit. Earlier, rubber farmers took out a protest march to the Rubber Board headquarters, in which hundreds of farmers and CITU activists participated.
CITU state vice-president K K Jayachandran presided over. CITU state secretaries N Padmalochanan, K O Habib, K Chandran Pillai, P Nandakumar, state vice-president V R Bhaskaran, national general council member K J Thomas, P S Rajan, V N Vasavan and R Raghunathan spoke.