KOZHIKODE: The United Democratic Front (UDF) on Monday observed hartal in four grama panchayats — Atholi, Ulliyeri, Naduvannur, and Kottur — in the district, alleging that CPI(M) workers were trying to take over the administration of the Naduvannur Regional Cooperative Bank through forceful means with no respect to election procedures.
Although vehicular traffic was not hit, most shops and business establishments in the villages remained closed till evening. UDF leaders claimed that the hartal had the support of all those who were witness to the attack on Congressmen during the bank election on Sunday.
Congress Naduvannur Mandalam president C. Rajan said CPI(M) workers had disrupted voting with a clear motive to end 25 years of UDF dominance in the bank. “They wanted the government to take over the administration of the bank by projecting the disrupted election, thus implementing the CPI(M) agenda in a tactical way,” he alleged.
The Congress leader also claimed that CPI(M) workers were trying to capture the bank administration with just 500 voters. “We have the support of 5,000 voters in the four grama panchayats, and the LDF can never defeat us,” he said.
On Monday, members of Sahakarana Janadhipathya Vedi, owing allegiance to the Congress, staged a dharna in front of the office of the Joint Registrar of Cooperative Societies, alleging that the CPI(M) leadership was trying to weaken the cooperative banking sector. Congress leader N. Subrahmanyan inaugurated the protest.
UDF leaders said they would organise a mass convention at Naduvannur on August 10 to make people aware of the unhealthy trends in the cooperative sector.
Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy will inaugurate the convention, they said.