The political heat in Kerala has been rising over a slew of protests by the opposition, Congress, for the past several days. The Congress and the Youth Congress resorted to protest after Swapna Suresh, an accused in the gold smuggling case, in a statement recorded under section 164 of the CrPC, named Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his wife Kamala, daughter Veena, two aides to Pinarayi and one minister in connection with the gold smuggling case. The first misstep by the government was when Vigilance officers in plainclothes took away Swapna's co-accused Sarith for questioning without notice. The protest intensified after Swapna held a press meet in Palakkad on June 10 where she released an audio clip of a conversation with a former journalist, Shaj Kiran, who allegedly threatened her for naming CM Pinarayi Vijayan in the gold smuggling scam.
Soon after this, the state government beefed up the security in the state especially in the districts where CM Pinarayi was participating in events. The streets in Thiruvananthapuram were soon filled with police, which is an unusual sight in the state. In Thiruvananthapuram, where Cliff House, the official residence of Pinarayi Vijayan is located, most of the roads in the city were put under a security blanket. People at some of the events attended by Pinarayi were reportedly banned from wearing black masks since that could be used to protest against the CM. Several protests turned into clashes with the police. The police imposed attempt-to-murder charges against two Youth Congress workers who raised slogans against CM Pinarayi onboard a flight.
The government and the CM have been facing the criticism that the state government is overreacting to the protest with heavy police deployment. Some called out the CPI(M)-led Left government since it itself has used protest as a major political tool in the past. For instance, when the LDF was in opposition during the tenure of the United Democratic Front government headed by Oommen Chandy as Chief Minister from 2011-2016, it laid siege to the Secretariat demanding the CM’s resignation in light of the solar scam. The scam shook the government after Saritha S Nair, the prime accused, unleashed scathing allegations against the then CM and his colleagues in the cabinet.
CL Thomas, a veteran journalist and political analyst, says that the police should have been more cautious in dealing with the protesters. “It’s true that the protesters had provoked the police, but the Left had done the same when they were in the opposition,” he said.
As for black colour and mask being banned at some of the CM events in Ernakulam, Kottayam and Malappuram districts, Pinarayi said that the government had not imposed any ban on wearing any ban on wearing black clothes and masks. However, many videos had surfaced by then which showed the police stopping protesters in black. “The state police chief has also said that there was no administrative level decision on that. It's true that the ban was there at least at some places and the onus is on the government to find out how the police acted so. Then only the claim of both the CM and the DGP will become credible,” Thomas said.
NM Pierson, a political observer, said that the set standard for applying law and order in a system to deal with people who raise allegations were not followed in dealing with the protest which worsened things. “The CM clarified this, perhaps realising the mistake. Also, protest is a right, whether the Left resorts to it or the Congress. Protesting with black cloth is also a right; it is part of democracy. What would the CPI(M) have done in a similar situation? That is the question of morality the CPI(M) faces.”
The initial protests by the Congress were based on Swapna’s allegations against the state government, however, later they changed focus to the ban on black masks, it then changed to protests against an attempt to murder case filed against Youth Congress workers who had protested inside Pinarayi's flight. Political commentators say that these changes in focus reflect the lack of clarity the party has on the issue.
Thomas said, “The Congress is protesting against an allegation raised by a woman working in an NGO either affiliated to the RSS or associated with it. She is supported by a lawyer (Krishnaraj), who is known for his staunch Hindutva-affiliations, hate speech, and attempting communal polarisation.” He questioned why the Congress would go to such an extent to protest for what could be “a conspiracy involving people like Krishnnaraj”. “One may also question why the LDF protested when the solar scam came to light. However, Saritha, unlike Swapna, was making the allegations independently, without political backing. And there were allegations of sexual abuse against Oomen Chandy, where weightage should go to what a woman says. Hence I don’t think there is a comparison between Swapna and Saritha,” Thomas added.
Pierson believes that the UDF should not have put their trust in and propagated what a person backed by the RSS is saying. “The UDF also lacks political morale. Now, the protest against Swapna’s allegations has faded, and become a protest against the ban on black masks. The Congress does not stick to the issues and is becoming a rolling stone.”