It took the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) just a day to suspend N. Aboobakker, a member of the Kunnamangalam block panchayat and former president of Peruvayal Congress Committee, after he attended the State government’s Navakerala Sadas on Sunday. When asked about the quick decision, District Congress Committee (DCC) president K. Praveen Kumar said, “The Congress has changed.”
“The Congress does not need members who defy a direct order from the KPCC president. The party has suspended him as part of disciplinary action,” he told reporters in Kozhikode on Monday. He said the suspended members were no longer welcome back. “Let the CPI(M) take them in if it wants. We will initiate steps to disqualify him as block panchayat member in that case,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Congress is planning massive protests across the State against the alleged attack on its workers and student union members during the Navakerala Sadas. The DCC president came down on the police for joining forces with the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) to torture Congress workers. “A few of our members were chased on bikes, and one had his brand new car burnt down. Some are even threatened on phone, just for waving black flags at the Chief Minister, and the police have not taken anyone into custody yet,” he said.
Mr. Kumar also accused Deputy Commissioner of Police K.E. Baiju of being a “party goon”, alleging that he had attempted to strangle V.T. Sooraj, district president of the Kerala Students’ Union and Joel Antony, unit president at the Physical Education College, besides attacking several others. The DCC has demanded that the officer be suspended immediately and has also moved court against him.
The party will hold protests in all constituencies in the district at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, while the Youth Congress plans to take out a march to the office of the District Police Chief (Kozhikode City) on Wednesday. A protest meeting will be held at Kottaparambu ground at Vadakara at 5 p.m. on December 4, which will be inaugurated by former minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan.
