THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Seeking an apology from Rahul Gandhi and the Congress, CPM central committee member T M Thomas Isaac on Monday termed the promise of a Rs 250 support price for rubber “impractical and laughable”.
Addressing a press conference here, Isaac said the ASEAN agreement, which he termed as the biggest setback to Kerala’s rubber farmers, was signed by the Congress-led second UPA government.
He said the Left had opposed the move from the outset. Following the agreement, nearly 40% of the country’s domestic rubber requirement began to be met through imports, leading to a sharp fall in prices from around Rs 240 to Rs 90-130.
He claimed that income from rubber, which stood at Rs 14,000 crore, declined to over Rs 6,000 crore after the agreement, causing a cumulative loss of Rs 1.25 lakh crore to the state over the past 15 years.
In such a scenario, the Congress promising a support price of Rs 250 was “laughable,” he said. Highlighting the LDF government’s measures, Isaac said Rs 2,500 crore had been distributed as subsidy to rubber farmers over the past 10 years. He said the LDF manifesto would include a clear promise on increasing the support price of rubber.
Alleging that Rahul Gandhi’s announcement was made without understanding the ground realities in Kerala, Isaac said the Congress was issuing guarantees based on misinformation. He also questioned whether the Congress had any alternative mechanism, apart from KIIFB, to ensure rapid infrastructure development in the state.