The Congress spotlighted the video of a Kerala Students Union (KSU) black flag protester Joel in a seemingly police stranglehold in Kozhikode on Monday as stark evidence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s “obsessive throttling of dissent” to insulate the Cabinet’s “elitist and extravagant public outreach sham”, Navakerala Sadas, from democratic protests and civic criticism.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan termed the incident a “George Floyd moment” that worryingly harked back to the gruesome episode of police “highhandedness” that resulted in the death of Floyd, a black person, at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis in the U.S. in 2022.
(The incident ignited widespread public outrage in the U.S., triggered nationwide protests and forced a global reckoning on human rights.)
Later, Mr. Joel told journalists that he felt breathless and dizzy and repeatedly requested the officer to allow him to breathe, but it was in vain.
The Congress said the overwhelming use of police force against anti-government demonstrators and mass arrests of Opposition workers marked the Cabinet’s progress to Malappuram.
It accused the police of watching mutedly as Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] workers unleashed violence on Congress activists en route.
‘Suicidal action’
In turn, Industries Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas blamed the Congress for “callously cajoling impressionable youth to conduct suicidal action” to impede the Cabinet’s peaceful progress.
He claimed several Opposition allies had disavowed the Congress’s “anarchic violence” triggered by the increasing bipartisan political approval for Navakerala Sadas.
Earlier, the CPI(M) had perceived a political win in the Indian Union Muslim League’s (IUML) assurance that the Cabinet would face no hindrance from League workers in Malappuram.
However, the key United Democratic Front (UDF) ally’s guarantee seemed to have little impact on the Congress activists who staged black flag demonstrations in several localities, leading to fisticuffs with CPI(M) workers in some places.
Oppn. leaders take part
Meanwhile, the presence of a district-level Congress leader and an IUML functionary at the Navakerala Sadas in Malappuram seemingly dealt the Opposition a setback.
Mr. Satheesan said the government had tom-tommed the presence of a “few estranged” Opposition activists to wring some propaganda advantage. Later, the Congress initiated disciplinary action against the errant party worker.
In Malappuram, Mr. Vijayan sought to make political capital from the development by condemning the Congress “for exacting revenge on a party worker who upheld State’s welfare above partisan politics”.
