Kerala Leader of Opposition (LoP) VD Satheesan, on Wednesday, November 22, again launched a broadside against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for giving a clean chit to CPI(M) workers who allegedly attacked a Congress worker waving a black flag at the CM and the cabinet members on November 20, when their month-long outreach yatra reached Kannur. Seeking an apology from the CM, the Congress leader demanded his resignation by calling his behaviour “unbecoming of a Chief Minister.”
Satheesan took on CM Pinarayi for the violent incident that took place in Kannur where the leaders reached as part of the state-wide yatra 'Nava Kerala Sadas', that was kicked off from Manjeswaram in Kasargod on November 18. “While Vijayan, who is also the Home Minister said the party workers were trying to prevent the Youth Congress workers waving black flags from being hit by the bus, in the FIR registered against his party workers they have been charged under murder charges. We all saw how brutally the CPI(M) workers were attacking our activists with sticks, iron rods and flower pots," said Satheesan.
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"But Vijayan says that they were trying to save the lives of our workers and applauded his party workers and asked them to repeat the same in future also. We have decided to seek legal recourse for Vijayan's statement as it amounts to creating violence," said Satheesan.
After the TV channels showed the incident, state Ministers like MB Rajesh and P Rajeeve sought to downplay Pinarayi's remarks and termed it as one “filled with dry humour.”
CM Pinarayi is on a state-wide trip, which will pass through all 140 Assembly constituencies, and culminate on December 24 in the state capital. While the Chief Minister has touted this trip as the beginning of building a new Kerala, the Opposition has termed it as an "extravagance and PR exercise" ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Meanwhile, the Congress-led UDF has now decided to launch their own yatra across the state to highlight the misgovernance of the LDF government which has now completed half its tenure of his second term.