Youth Congress workers waved black flags at the motorcade of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at Pazhayangadi in Kannur on Monday, the police said. Mr. Vijayan was visiting his home district as part of Navakerala Sadas, an outreach programme of the government, when the Youth Congress members staged the demonstration. The black flags were waved when the motorcade was passing through Eripuram in Pazhayangadi.
Youth Congress leaders alleged that some protesters were attacked by supporters of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M] using ‘‘helmets, sticks, and stones.” The injured workers have been admitted to a private hospital in Taliparamba, they said. The police said they had launched an investigation into the incident. The Youth Congress also alleged that a few of their workers were taken into preventive custody by the police earlier in the day.
Satheesan’s response
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said the incident reflected poorly on the state of affairs in Kerala, as it appeared that a group of people linked to the CPI(M) had attacked workers of the Youth Congress and the Kerala Students Union (KSU), including women. It’s a humiliating incident for Kerala, Mr. Satheesan said.
He said that black flags would be waved at the Chief Minister’s motorcade all the way to Thiruvananthapuram if Youth Congress workers were physically targeted. UDF supporters would stage black flag protests against Mr. Vijayan outside Navakerala Sadas venues, he added.
He said the UDF would hold mock public trials of the failed and corruption-ridden LDF government from December 2 to December 23 across Kerala.
CPI(M) stance
Meanwhile, the CPI(M) State secretariat said a Congress leadership deeply resentful of the success of the Navakerala Sadas had unleashed violence to retard the programme. It termed the black flag protest against Mr. Vijayan’s motorcade an initial manifestation of the political plot.
It said the Congress was upset that the drive had won political approval. UDF leaders were flocking to NKS venues. Opposition legislators were frustrated that the Congress denied them the opportunity to raise their constituents’ grievances directly with the Cabinet.
It urged CPI(M) workers not to respond to any provocation and to work in a focused manner for the programme’s success.
