After BJP's Janaraksha Yatra, Congress-led UDF calls for strike on 13 October to corner Kerala govt

Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress-led UDF Opposition in Kerala has called for a 12-hour strike (hartal) on October 13 to protest the “anti-people policies” of the Centre and state government. [caption id=“attachment_2807410” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Ramesh Chennithala. Facebook[/caption] At a press conference in Malappuram, UDF chairman and state opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said the protest was against the “frequent” hike in prices of petroleum products and drawback in the implementation of GST. Attacking the CPM-led LDF government in the state, he alleged that the state government was not taking any steps to ease the people’s hardship caused by fuel price increase. “Hartal has been called as life has become difficult in Kerala,” Chennithala said. Taking a dig at state finance minister TM Thomas Isaac, who had welcomed GST at the time of implementation, Chennithala said “Isaac was one of the persons who had hailed the GST even more than Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Now he should explain to people following the rise in prices of goods.” Price of all essential commodities have gone up, he alleged and said it has become difficult to have food from hotels and restaurants. Chennithala rejected the BJP charge that Kerala has become a “fertile soil” for jihadi terrorism, and said “people of the state are known for high cultural values.” The only problem in the state is the “political violence unleashed by BJP and CPI-M,” he said. Chennithala also hit out at the ongoing Janaraksha Yatra, launched by BJP chief Amit Shah on Tuesday and led by BJP state president Kummanom Rajasekharan. Referring to the hartal, Chennithala said in Ernakulam district, it will be only till three pm in view of the Fifa under-17 world cup. Instructions have been given to ensure that specators were not disturbed, he added. The centre had on Tuesday cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre to moderate the relentless rise in fuel prices witnessed for the last three months.