Walkout in Kerala Assembly over rise in prices

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Opposition walked out of the Kerala Assembly on Tuesday after a two-and-a-half-hour discussion on whether it was the State government or the Centre that was responsible for the food inflation being experienced in the State.



The discussion was on an adjournment motion moved by Congress MLA Aryadan Mohammed for taking up his allegation that the State government was doing nothing to hold the prices of essential commodities. He read out item by item, the increases the prices of commodities such as rice, sugar and pulses had registered between the time the United Democratic Front (UDF) relinquished charge of the government and now. The prices of food commodities had gone up phenomenally during the three-and-a-half years of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.



Mr. Mohammed accused the government of not lifting the full allotment of subsidised rice from the Centre and, at the same time, selling an allotment of wheat to flour mills.



Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy, who anchored the discussion for the UDF, also repeated the wheat-related charge and said it was strange that the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation should aim for profits through the sale of wheat given at heavily subsidised rates by the Union government.