LDF to take out corp office march tomorrow against Congress bid to destabilise council

KOCHI:  LDF will take out a march and stage a dharna in front of the Kochi Corporation office on March 28 in protest against Congress's move to sabotage the administration of the local body. 

The controversies and violence triggered following the Brahmapuram fire incident were part of the factional feud in Congress, the LDF district committee has alleged. The factionalism was evident in the statements made by former mayor Tony Chammany and N Venugopal, the LDF leaders told reporters in Kochi on Friday. 

“When the LDF-led council came to power, 5.5 lakh tonnes of garbage had piled up at Brahmapuram. The mayors belonging to the Congress, who had been in power for the past 10 years, were responsible for this. If an inquiry is initiated, several illegal transactions and deals will come out. The Congress leadership fears that many illegal deals will come out, including that of former mayor Tony Chammany. The present council has demanded the state government initiate a comprehensive probe into the matters related to waste disposal since 2010. This is the reason why Tony Chammany frequently comes out with baseless allegations against the state government, the chief minister, and the corporation,” said CPM district secretary C N Mohanan.

LDF leaders said that Congress was attempting to turn the city into a garbage dump by not cooperating with the waste disposal activities of the corporation. 

Besides, they are also trying hard to destabilise the present governing council by raking up controversies. The state Congress president came out with a call to launch a protest in front of the corporation aimed at destabilising the ruling council, they added. CPI district secretary K M Dinakaran, LDF district convener George Edaparathy, Janata Dal district president Jabbar Thachayil and others attended the press meet.