Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan told reporters in Kozhikode on November 23, 2023 that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s barefaced defence of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) workers “who unleashed wanton violence on Youth Congress black flag demonstrators in Kannur on Tuesday” had compelled him to speak harshly.
(The alleged attack resulted in severe injuries to four Youth Congress (YC) activists, prompting the police to book 14 DYFI workers on the charge of attempted murder and aggravated assault.)
Mr. Satheesan had drawn flak from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leadership for referring to Mr. Vijayan as a “criminal lording over a gangster State” in the immediate aftermath of the street violence.
