Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] district secretary M.V. Jayarajan has denied that CPI(M) workers had assaulted SilverLine protesters at Nadal on Monday.
CPI(M) workers had not beaten up anyone. Those who deliberately tried to cause trouble and prevent the survey for the SilverLine project had to back down, he told the media on Tuesday.
Mr. Jayarajan, who claimed that the survey was peaceful, alleged that Congress workers had assaulted officials at Nadal.
The attack at Nadal took place in the presence of police officers who had come to provide protection to the K-Rail officials who came to install the survey stones. CPI(M) workers, led by area committee member Nagathan Prakash, reportedly had a scuffle with the Congress workers who protested against the installation of the survey stone and tried to remove it. The residents of the area had raised a protest against conducting the survey without giving them notice. The CPI(M) workers allegedly prevented the people from raising their concerns and sharing their views with the media.
The minor scuffle between the CPI(M) and the Congress was condemned by various quarters. District Congress Committee (DCC) president Martin George said the incident showed the extent to which the CPI(M) would go to sabotage the rightful protest against the project. He alleged that the CPI(M) was deploying goons to resist public protests.
The Anti-SilverLine State Committee had said that no democratic society could accept such an act. The government failed to create a consensus among the people on the project, which would affect the environment. They condemned the attacks on the protesters.
Stone-laying halted
Meanwhile, the K-Rail officials on Monday abandoned the installation of the survey stone in Kannur. This followed a technical problem and the work would be resumed soon, officials said.
