The police were acting in accordance with the directions of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and the Opposition leaders were being selectively attacked, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has said.
Talking to mediapersons at Thodupuzha here after visiting District Congress Committee (DCC) president C.P. Mathew at a hospital on Tuesday evening, Mr. Satheesan said the police attack on N.K. Premachandran, MP, in Kollam was a selective one. He said a “goonda Raj” prevailed in the State and Mr. Mathew was attacked in Thodupuzha without any provocation.
He alleged that the DYFI activists barged in to the house of the Opposition leader with a clear direction from the Chief Minister's Office. Those arrested in connection with it were charged with bailable sections. The attack on the residence of the Opposition leader was unheard of in the history of the State, said Mr. Satheesan, adding that it was not the Opposition leader who was accused in the gold smuggling case.
If the ruling party thought that the Congress leaders could be cowed into submission and peaceful protests muzzled through intimidation, they have erred in their judgement, he said.
