The Congress’s ire against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s alleged subversion of the State police to stifle democratic dissent spilt violently onto the streets in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi on December 20 (Wednesday).
Congress workers, braving water cannons, also battled police officers in riot gear in other parts of Kerala, resulting in minor injuries to scores of persons on both sides.
The belligerent protests underscored the depth of the Congress’s outrage at Mr. Vijayan’s “brazen defence” of his personal security officers accused of extra-judicially attacking Kerala Students Union (KSU) workers detained by the local police for flaunting black flags at the VIP motorcade ferrying the Cabinet to a Navakerala Sadas venue in Alappuzha district last week.
Scores of Congress workers marched to police stations across the State to protest against what they termed the law enforcement’s “political partisanship and high-handedness.”
They also accused law enforcement of aiding and abetting Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) workers who “recurrently attacked” Congress workers protesting against the Cabinet’s progress across the State.
Earlier, the Congress had accused the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) of misusing public funds and government machinery to prosecute its pre-Lok Sabha poll campaign “cleverly camouflaged as a public outreach programme”.
Epicentre of protests
Thiruvananthapuram emerged as the epicentre of the Statewide anti-government protests. Hundreds of Youth Congress workers, led by Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, converged on the State capital and laid siege to the Secretariat.
They skirmished with the phalanx of police guarding the entrance. The police discharged water cannons at the protesters.
However, they kept surging back in anger. Some wrested shields from law enforcers and forcibly freed fellow activists detained in police vans. They scrambled atop the iron barricade blocking the Secretariat’s north gate entrance and set up Youth Congress flags. Some attempted to scale the Secretariat’s perimeter fence, and the police pushed them back repeatedly.
Youth Congress State president Rahul Mamkootathil and Shafi Parambil, MLA, led the demonstrations. They accused the police of manhandling protesters and singled out an officer for allegedly ripping up the dress of a woman activist.
Mr. Mamkootathil claimed that he sustained a “lathi blow” on his head. He sat on the road and refused to be evacuated by ambulance to the nearby General Hospital.
Youth Congress workers repeatedly resisted police efforts to arrest and remove them from the spot on police buses. They smashed the windowpane of a police vehicle in the melee.
Later, Mr. Satheesan returned to the spot and led Youth Congress workers in an ordered file to the nearby District Congress Committee (DCC) office.
He stood in front of the DCC office gate to prevent the police from entering the party office to arrest Youth Congress workers suspected of destroying public property.
Mr. Satheesan accused the police of brutalising Youth Congress workers while giving SFI workers demonstrating against Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan the kid-glove treatment.
CM a sadist: Satheesan
Earlier, while inaugurating the Youth Congress march, Mr. Satheesan attacked Mr. Vijayan, using phrases that appeared to border on the personal.
He termed Mr. Vijayan a “sadist” delinquent. He demanded that the police bring the Chief Minister’s security detail to book for unleashing wanton violence against KSU workers in Alappuzha last week.
The Youth Congress protest threw life out of gear in the capital city for the better part of the day. The Secretariat locality remained a conflict zone for hours, forcing the police to divert traffic. Motorists and two-wheeler riders had to take long detours to reach their destinations.
Similar scenes
Similar scenes occurred to a lesser degree in Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Wayanad districts. In Kochi, Congress workers endured water cannon blasts. They attempted to bring down the iron barricade blocking their access to the City Police Commissioner’s office.
Mr. Satheesan said the Opposition would intensify its anti-government protests in the coming days. He announced a KSU march to the State Police Headquarters on December 21 (Thursday).
Congress MPs and legislators will lay siege to the State Police Chief’s office on December 23. Their protest will dovetail with the culmination of the NavaKerala Sadas in the capital on the same day.
