Public money 'looted' through an 'unholy nexus' between United Progressive Alliance politicians and bureaucrats is being used for the April 13 assembly elections in Kerala, alleged Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Prakash Karat on Saturday.
Addressing a public meeting to campaign for ruling Left Democratic Front candidates in the Kottayam district, he pointed to the 'huge seizures' of money every day in Tamil Nadu by Election Commission officials and said the EC should take steps to check illegal flow of such money into Kerala.
He said distribution of money to voters before polls would subvert and pollute the nation's democratic system and urged the EC to exercise utmost vigilance to curb such activities.
Karat alleged that corruption had reached its zenith under the UPA government, with two former ministers - one at the Centre and another in Kerala - in jail.
This was in contrast to the 'non-corrupt' LDF government in Kerala, which has taken steps to curb the practise, he claimed.
"We are confident that the Left will continue to play a significant role in national politics", he said. Karat also came down on the UPA government for 'failing' to curb price rise and said petrol price increased by more than Rs 10 in the last seven months, fuelling inflation.
He also accused the government of planning to decontrol diesel prices. Claiming that the government had lost Rs 1.76 lakh crore in the 2G spectrum scam, he said those indulging in it have been protected.
"They taught the art of making money, whether it be Commonwealth Games, Telecom licence or space-related activities," Karat said.
Criticising the UPA government for restricting the public distribution system to certain categories, he said people were now categorised into APL and BPL, taking a section of them outside its purview.
"The LDF intends to expand PDS, where everyone deserves Rs 2 per kg rice scheme."
The UDF claim of Rs 1 per kg rice scheme would help only about 11.5 lakh BPL families whereas the LDF scheme would cover over 40 lakh families, he said.
The five-year LDF rule had implemented many pro-people measures with limited socio-economic resources, he said and noted that PSUs were running in profit in the state. "This trend should be continued as the people never accepted Bharatiya Janata Party or any other party," he said.
