Members of Parliament from Kerala have endorsed the State government’s decision not to cooperate with the National Population Register (NPR).
Addressing a meeting held here as a prelude to the budget session of Parliament on Friday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government would take steps to avert confusion among the public and political parties about the Census and NPR. Mr. Vijayan sought their intervention for including the proposals mooted by Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac in the Union budget to tide over the financial crisis gripping the State.
The State had also demanded a special consideration in the wake of floods that lashed the State. The government had demanded the Centre to raise the borrowing limit to fund its rebuilding activities, increase the minimum support price for rubber, announce an international Ayurvedic research institute in Kannur, sanction an AIIMS for Kerala, make additional investments in Cochin Shipyard and FACT and such others. The State has not yet received the GST compensation of ₹1,600 crore for August and September last. The move to privatise BPCL needs to be halted.
The government has submitted an estimate to the Centre for rebuilding the roads damaged in the floods and demanded an additional assistance of ₹10 lakh for each km from the National Disaster Response Fund for doing the work. The Centre should also waive the bill slammed on the State government for providing ration rice from its pool for the flood victims. Mr. Vijayan wanted the MPs to mount pressure on the Centre for securing a decision in favour of the State.
He urged the MPs to persuade the Centre to help implement the recommendations of the Loka Kerala Sabha, mainly for rehabilitating the repatriates in accordance with their skills. The MPs should also persuade the Centre to provide financial support for the various projects in the railway sector.
The MPs should intervene to make the Centre order a probe into the death of Keralites’ in Kathmandu and secure due compensation for their families. An intervention from the Centre was imperative for conducting a thorough inquiry and getting a compensation for the victims’ kin, he said.
Mr. Isaac, Public Works Minister G. Sudhakaran, and Water Resources Minister K. Krishnankutty represented the government.
Benoy Viswam, Kodikunnil Suresh, K. Muraleedharan, E.T. Mohammed Basheer, Benny Behanan, A.M. Arif, P.V. Abdul Wahab, Jose K. Mani, N.K. Premachandran and Rajmohan Unnithan, all MPs, attended the meeting.
