Kerala CM urges Left to back reforms

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Apparently disgusted at the snail’s pace of reforms in Kerala, Kerala Chief Minister A K Antony on Wednesday urged political parties, especially the Left, to take note of the changes brought about in traditionally Communist China and West Bengal.
“Learn from China and West Bengal�, Mr Antony said, pointing out that the West Bengal chief minister had chosen to privatise public sector undertakings even as opposition was mounting in Kerala over the decision to restructure some of Kerala’s 110-odd public sector undertakings.
The chief minister made the remark after the weekly cabinet meeting when he was confronted with the question of the state going in for a Rs 3,000 crore loan from the Asian Development Bank.
The sharp reaction of the chief minister came even as a sub-committee headed by A V Thamarakshan mla is meeting with trade union leaders and employees of 12 selected PSUs, in a run up to the proposed restructuring of PSUs recommended by the Enterprise Reforms Committee.
The PSUs where the committee will meet employees and leaders include Astral Watches, which has audit completed only up to 1995, and Kerala State Textile Corporation, which has a negative net worth, among others.
State industry minister P K Kunhalikutty had recently led a delegation to China with CPM legislative party leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan tagging along to influence the Left leaders.
to adopt a more liberal outlook, but the trip seems to have produced no palpable change in the general mindset in the state.
The chief minister also expressed dissatisfaction at the poor local infrastructure, remarking that a Mumbai-Thiruvananthapuram journey took lesser time than a trip within the capital city.