The State capital appeared to be in the throes of political turmoil yet again after the district office of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] came under attack by unidentified bike-borne miscreants during the wee hours of Saturday.
The incident occurred nearly two months after a man hurled a low-intensity explosive at the AKG Centre, the party’s State headquarters. The failure of the police in nabbing the perpetrator had left both the government and the CPI(M) red-faced, especially since the party had blamed the Congress soon after the attack.
The CPI(M) district office at Mettukada was vandalised around 1.50 a.m. by a gang of six people who rode three motorcycles. Surveillance camera footage showed a person who rode pillion on the third scooter hurling a rock towards the office and fleeing away before two police officers who were stationed outside the office could react.
A car belonging to CPI(M) district secretary Anavoor Nagappan, which was parked on the premises, suffered damage. Mr. Nagappan and a few party workers were in the building when the incident took place.
The City police, which has registered a case, have been scouring through CCTV footage from shops and houses in the locality. City Police Commissioner G. Sparjan Kumar took stock of the damage.
Condemning the incident, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan decried conscious attempts being made to disrupt peace by attacks on party officers and workers. He also issued directions to the police to apprehend those responsible for the incident.
LDF convener E.P. Jayarajan accused the RSS-Sangh Parivar combine of orchestrating the “premeditated” attack. Their alleged ploy to hurt those in the office was thwarted by the police. The senior CPI (M) leader also blamed the United Democratic Front (UDF) for encouraging such attacks.
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has distanced themselves from the incident. Party district president V.V. Rajesh called the controversy a diversionary tactic to conceal fissures in the party. Alleging an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) office in Thiruvananthapuram had been vandalised by CPI (M) workers on Friday, he threatened to retaliate if BJP’s offices came under attack.
The city has been witnessing an uptick in political tension after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers purportedly engaged in an altercation with CPI(M) workers and allegedly attacked Gayathri Babu, a councillor, during a rally organised by the LDF and the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation on Friday. Flag posts and flex boards erected by the CPI(M) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) at Nettayam, near Vattiyurkavu, were found to be destroyed late in the day.
