Cong stages Satyagraha over deal with US firm; CM rubbishes charges as baseless

KeralaChief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday dismissed as baseless allegations by Congress that state-owned corporations have signed deals with a US firm for deep sea fishing and asserted his government would never allow any corporate in such areas.

As the opposition party stepped up pressure on the government by launching a 'satyagraha' protest at a nearby fishing hamlet over the issue, he said two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) signed by state-owned corporations with the EMCC International were not for deep sea fishing.

He also accused Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Ramesh Chennithala of trying to mislead the fishermen.

The government has already cancelled the MoUs -- a Rs 5,000 crore pact inked by Kerala State Industrial Corporation (KSIDC) and Rs 2,950 crore deal by the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC) with EMCC, as Congress was carrying on a campaign to 'mislead' fishermen, Vijayan told reporters here.

Earlier in the day, Chennithala launched the day-long 'satyagraha' at Poonthura, demanding removal of Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty Amma over the alleged deep sea fishing deals.

''The fisheries policy of the Left governmentis very clear that we will not allow any corporates, be it Indian or foreign, to engage in deep sea fishing along the Kerala coast.

All the allegations raised by the Opposition Leader are baseless. The MoU signed was not for encouraging deep sea fishing,'' Vijayan said.

The controversial MoUs were signed by the KSINC and KSIDC with EMCC International at a State government-sponsored global investors meet, ASCEND, in Kochi last year.

According to officials, the MoUs were for building modern fishing harbours which would be connected to a marine product processing centre in Alappuzha and 400 deep sea fishing trawlers.

The chief minister said tisherfolk and the general public were likely to be misled when a responsible public figure like the Leader of the Opposition makes 'misleading' statements in public.

The Industries Minister has directed the KSIDC MD to cancel the MoU in order to avoid confusion among the general public.

''It was cancelled not because the government has done anything wrong. It was cancelled so that there won't be any misunderstanding among the public,'' Vijayan said.

He claimed ''such baseless allegations are being raised by the Opposition'' as they have nothing to say against the Left government.

Launching the stir, Chennithala, who has been attacking the LDF over the issue, wanted the government to order a judicial probe into the alleged conspiracy behind the controversial agreements and remove the reported changes made in the fisheries' policy of the state in favour of the US firm.

If the opposition had not raised the matter, the cabinet would have given consent to the deals, which would have adversely impacted the lives of lakhs of fishermen in the state, he told reporters at Poonthura.

The LDF government has also ordered an internal inquiry to go into the circumstances under which such a deal was signed.

Urging the government to order a judicial probe into the matter, Chennithala said if the CM did not know anything, ''what is the point of him sitting in that chair?''. PTI RRT VS VS