Singling out Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan for criticism, NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair once again clamoured against the state government on Monday, saying that the government had allotted several acres of land to various private parties ahead of the Piravom by election.
The deal occurred when Thiruvanchoor was the Revenue Minister, he told Express at the NSS headquarters at Perunna.
“Hilly and plain lands were allotted to some college managements shortly before the bypoll. The government has even given permission for building shopping complexes there. We have the details of these deals with us, including how much land has been given and to how many people and organisations,” Sukumaran Nair said.
But he refused to comment whether the deal was in lieu of votes. “Those who alleged that the NSS had illegally procured government land should dig into these illegal deals. We have not sought ownership of any land. As a non-profit organisation we were given plots of land on lease to run educational institutions and some non-profit institutions,” he said.
Sukumaran Nair added that the NSS was forced to distance from the Congress and the UDF because of it decadence. “The Congress has lost its secular face. The imbalance triggered by the fifth-minister issue still persists. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala and Thiruvanchoor took a deceptive stand on the issue. There is no change in our attitude towards Thiruvanchoor. He knows the situation which forced the NSS to take such a stance and that is why he has not yet tried to patch up,” he said. Meanwhile, Thiruvanchoor refused to comment on Sukumaran Nair’s allegations, saying that he doesn’t want to kick up a row.
“I always maintained a hearty relationship with the NSS and I respect NSS leaders. There is no change in my attitude. I don’t think that the NSS is specifically targeting me. There are some general issues that forced a change in their stance,” Thiruvanchoor told Express. Sukumaran Nair criticised the functioning of the Education Department too.
“Being the largest educational corporate management in the state, NSS has the right to point out the mistakes of the Education Department. We have discussed the issues with the Chief Minister, Education Minister and some top UDF leaders. However, there has been no response so far. They can no longer say that our demands are not just. We doubt that some persons with vested interests might be forcing the UDF to turn a blind to our demands,” he alleged.