By TwoCircles.net Staff Correspondent,
Kozhikode: Land acquisitions for projects will wholly be by the consent of people, said Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan. Care should have been taken to avoid unfavourable incidents in Kinalur. He added that the Kinalur issue could be solved peacefully by holding talks with all concerned. He was speaking at the press conference on the fourth anniversary of the LDF government.
When asked about the accusation of certain people in power that religious terrorists had been involved in the Kinalur issue, the CM said that the Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem or the Collector had not taken any measure to keep such people away for dealing with people’s issues. They too were included in talks. He also reportedly added that the Collector had not taken care to include these persons in the talks held earlier.
Meanwhile, the Solidarity Youth Movement which has been in the forefront of the struggle of the people in Kinalur, along with other groups and political parties, organized a public conference raising the slogan ‘Defend development terrorism, be the sentinel of people-friendly development’ at Balussery in Kozhikode. Inaugurating the programme, Jamat e Islami state Amir T Arifali said that denying the victims of development their very right to know is the biggest crime. Those being evicted have the right to know the width of the road, the land area on which the project is coming, who is/are owning the rest of the land, how much land has been given to farmers, those who benefit from the road, the share of the land-mafia and trade union leaders etc. The government is now denying this right. The Jamat e Islami and the Solidarity are not against development, but the development projects should be transparent. It should be for the common people and not only for the rich, land-mafia and corporate companies, he reminded.
Referring to the words of the Industries Minister regarding the involvement of the Solidarity in the Kinalur protest, Arifali said that the Minister Elamaram Kareem’s accusations were a matter of pride, though it is not right to claim ownership of the protest solely for Solidarity or Jamat as people of all organizations and parties are there in the protest. Other organizations should speak out if they find their (JIH or Solidarity) presence a burden. The people of Kerala and the media will not allow killing this struggle. The explanations of the minister are changing day by day and those of the Collector increase the mystery. We are not against the minister. The Minister who is trying for industrial development has lost his entire good image by the KInalur issue.
Referring to the statement of the CPI (M) state general secretary Pinarayi VIjayan last day that the JIH was a solitary organization among Muslims, Arifali opined that leader like Mr Vijayan should not hold the accusations raised by conservative groups among Muslims. We take our decisions not expecting support from anybody. The organization is run forward by its ideology and outlook, Arifali added.
The state Finance Minister last day said that the government was ready for a referendum in Kinalur. He also asked whether the UDF and Jamat e Islami would refrain from the protest if 75 per cent of the people on both sides of the road from Vattoli Bazaar to Kinalur supported the new road. The Solidarity also has agreed to the proposal of referendum stating that the referendum should be done from Malikkadavu to Kinalur where the people are victims of the road. State president Mujeeb Rahman added that the referendum would be helpful to prove wrong the accusation of the Industries Minister that those protesting at Kinalur were outsiders.
In another development, the leaders of the organizations protesting against the Kinalur road met the Chief Minister on Monday after they had expressed their dissatisfaction in the move of inviting only political parties to the all-party meeting. The CM has reportedly assured them they too would be invited to the meeting to be held on May 29. Meanwhile, the fact-finding commission of the lawyers’ organizations ‘Justicia’ had found that the police had acted like terrorists in Kinalur, according to media reports. The ‘Justicia’ would submit their report to the Chief Minister.