Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran on March 5 accused the Kerala government of using the police to target people’s representatives who are raising genuine grievances of the public.
Condemning the arrests of Mathew Kuzhalnadan, MLA, and Ernakulam district Congress Committee president Mohammed Shiyas, Mr. Sudhakaran said the court granted them bail “in solidarity” with the issues being raised by them.
Mr. Kuzhalnadan was arrested from a tent put up at the Post Office Junction in Kothamangalam town where he was on an indefinite hunger strike with fellow legislator Eldhose Kunnappillil demanding a permanent solution to human-wildlife conflicts across Kerala.
Mr. Sudhakaran said the “high-handed action” against the Congress leaders was aimed at containing the Opposition’s protests over the deaths due to wild animal attacks, the death of J.S. Siddharth, a second-year student of the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Pookode in Wayanad district, and the delay in disbursal of salary to government employees.
He said the State government has chosen to “target the people” who are bearing the brunt of wild animal attacks instead of expressing solidarity with them.
