THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan on Saturday criticised the Centre for ignoring the concerns of farmers and those living below poverty line in the state.
According to him, the proposed National Food Security Act is an instance of the Centre’s lack of concern for the state. ``Over 50 lakh APL card holders would be out of the public distribution system and the number of BPL card holders would be cut down by half once the National Food Security Act comes into force,’’ he said.
He also spoke of promises unkept. ``Though the Prime Minister had earlier agreed to provide 50,000 tonnes of rice for APL card holders, the Union Food Ministry is ready to provide only 15,000 tonnes. For the remaining amount, we have been ordered to pay more,’’ he said. ``The Centre should rethink its foodgrain policy that is causing severe damage to the state,’’ he added.
``The country is in the grip of a severe inflation.
The prices of vegetables, pulses and other essential items are going up,’’ Achuthanandan said. Nonetheless, he said the price rise in a consumer state like Kerala is less in comparison to the rise in producer states. ``It was possible because the government could provide rice and wheat at Rs 2 a kilo to over 26 lakh poor families.
We also distribute rice at Rs 14 a kilo through rice shops across the state,’’ he said.
Religious extremists were threatening the unity and security of the country. ``All kinds of terrorist and fundamentalist forces should be sidelined,’’ he added. In this context, he made a special mention of valiant officers like Hemant Karkare and Sandeep Unnikrishnan who laid down their lives during the Mumbai terror attack.