Para-military troops for poll sought

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI, FEB. 17. The UDF has requested the Election Commission of India to deploy para-military troops in nearly 300 trouble-prone polling booths in northern Kerala, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. A.K. Antony, has said.

He told presspersons here today that the UDF had identified the booths falling under Kasaragod, Kannur and Vadakara Parliamentary constituencies. The Chief Election Commissioner had assured a UDF delegation that sufficient security arrangements would be made in this regard.

Referring to the CPI(M) State secretary, Mr. Pinarayi Vijayan's claim that the UDF could never beat the LDF, the Opposition leader said the latter need not nurture any hope of returning to power through Kannur model booth capturing.

Mr. Antony exuded confidence that the UDF would wrest some of the seats won by the LDF last time, besides winning a majority of the seats. ``Let LDF leaders prepare for a change of guard. A UDF Government would be sworn in during the first week of May,'' he asserted.

The UDF would not project anyone as the Chief Minister candidate in the polls. The immediate agenda before the front is to oust the LDF Government, he said.

The new abkari policy as suggested by an LDF sub- committee is framed in such a way to fill the coffers of the front even if it has to sit on the Opposition benches after the election, he said.

Mr. Antony ridiculed the LDF decision to send a delegation to West Bengal to study the functioning of educational institutions in the cooperative sector there. This is an insult to Kerala, which is a role model for other States in the country on this front. The LDF should be prepared to read the writing on the wall. With the recent Information Technology boom, engineering graduates are required worldwide in large numbers. Southern States such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu had started numerous engineering colleges to meet the demand.

The UDF, once it returns to power, would assess the need of engineering and other professional colleges in the State and sanction sufficient number of colleges in the private sector. The front would issue a clear-cut guideline in this regard. Mr. Antony said that while sanctioning such colleges, it would be ensured that admissions to 50 per cent of the seats would be on merit. The UDF would put an end to the situation in which Keralites would have to shell out huge amounts in other States for professional education, he said.

He warned Government officials against implementing any illegal orders issued by the Government, which is at the fag end of its term. The officials have the responsibility to check the legality of the orders issued by the Government. All such illegal and out- of-the-way decisions would be reviewed by the future UDF Government.

He demanded immediate steps to resume the cancelled bus schedules of the KSRTC. The Corporation was forced to cancel over 50 per cent of its daily schedules as petroleum companies have stopped supplying fuel to it due to non-payment of arrears.

The front would explore the possibility of declaring a moratorium on agriculture debts and would implement the People's Plan Campaign effectively, he added.

The DCC president, Prof. K.V. Thomas, was present.

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