Vasuki calls for slashing of charges to renew fitness certificate of lorries

U. Vasuki, CPI(M) Politburo Member, on Thursday called upon the Union government to reduce the charges for fitness certificate of vehicles so that it did not burden the lorry owners.

The Politburo Member told presspersons that the movement of paddy from the direct purchase centres to godowns and from godowns to railway goods yards were hit because of the strike by lorry owners in the delta districts. They lorry owners were protesting against the steep increase in the charges to renew the Fitness Certificate.

Hence, the Union government should come forward to reduce the charges in such a way that the revised charges did not cause financial burden on the lorry owners, she added.

At the same time, she exhorted the State government to look into the issue of malfunctioning of winnowers and weighing machines deployed at the DPCs and rectify the same as quickly as possible since the arrival of paddy at DPCs had increased.

Demanding that minimum support price for sugarcane, as assured in the previous election manifesto by the ruling party in the State be announced, Ms. Vasuki called upon Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to announce waiver of outstanding cooperative loans availed by farmers in his reply to the Budget speech.

Seeking stern action against the police for ‘attacking’ persons with disabilities in Chennai, she demanded that the State government should accept their demand for increase in financial assistance.

Assuring that the party would stand with the Secular Alliance headed by the DMK in the forthcoming Legislative Assembly elections, the Politburo Bureau member said the CPI(M) preferred to get the Assembly Seats allocated in double digits this time.

She urged the State government to initiate legal action against the former Tamil Nadu BJP State President K. Annamalai for trying to disturb ‘communal harmony’ by spreading false information about a minority educational institution at Thirukattupalli following the death of a girl student, who resided at the hostel run by the minority institution, in 2022.