Vaithilingam taunts CPI for its ‘silence’

Stating that the Anglo-French Textile Mills (AFT) under the Pondicherry Textile Corporation has been closed for the past few months, Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister V Vaithilingam on Thursday called up on the Left parties to come forward to organise agitations for its re-opening.

Addressing a press conference here, Vaithilingam said that the workers of AFT Mills are not getting any work, neither they are paid salary. The management which has been continuously giving leave to its workers is yet to reveal its stance on the mill. In this juncture, he wondered why the CPI which came forward in support of the workers and sought the re-opening of the Regency Ceramics in Yanam is not concerned with the AFT here.

Depite a CPI leader being the president of the Joint Action Committee of the mill workers, Vaithilingam wondered  why the party is accepting the non-payment of salary to the workers. The CPI is functioning in tandem  with the ruling party, he charged.

Stating that the N R Congress government here had spent only Rs 1,376 crore out of the Rs 3,000 crore plan allocation in the last year, Vaithilingam charged that the ruling party hasn’t done anything for the development of the union territory in the last three years.

When several schemes are pending implementation and there are less job opportunities, the Chief Minister is making efforts to appoint 100 people through backdoor entry in Ponlait( Cooperative milk Producers Union)and another 50 in the cooperative sector.

He wondered why the CPI, a labourer party, is not questioning such anti-labour actions of the government. As per the workers, there is no security to their lives if they question this, he said, adding that it is the responsibility of every one to allay the fear of workers. If the CPI comes forward to fight for the cause of the workers, the Congress is ready to support them, he added.

Meanwhile, Vaithilingam demanded that the State government extend utmost cooperation to the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) which is conducting an enquiry into the issue of a fake NGO fraudulently availing of funds under the Aajeevika Scheme. Both the Central and State governments should conduct enquiries on how the NGO managed to open a bank account and how the money was transferred to another branch in Chennai, he added.

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