Ruckus marks first day in Kerala Assembly

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan maintained that the BJP-RSS men had unleashed violence in the state capital recently to deviate the attention from the medical college scam, the Congress-led UDF disrupted the Assembly on Monday alleging that the CPM triggered the violence as part of a  political strategy to help the BJP revive from the embarrassment of the medical college and fake currency scams. The chief minister said that there were intelligence reports that the BJP would create law and order problems in the state to deviate the attention from the medical college scam. The attempt by the BJP-RSS to create a wrong perception about the state at the national level would not work, he said.

The Opposition alleged that the CPM triggered the violence to give advantage to the BJP-RSS as part of its political strategy to prevent anti-LDF votes going to the UDF. The BJP had lost its face after the medical college scam surfaced and the involvement of some of its activists in the fake currency case. But the violence involving a CPM councillor (I.P. Binu) and the murder of a BJP activist helped the BJP revive from the embarrassment. After the Speaker denied permission to an adjournment motion on the  violence in the state capital, the Opposition disrupted the House by entering the well and shouting slogans. Subsequently, the House was adjourned for the day—the first day of the session.

Replying to the adjournment  notice given by Congress leader K. Muraleedharan, the chief minister said that the BJP’s propaganda of law and order breakdown in the state would also affect the investment prospects in the state. The police acted without any political bias and those accused in all major cases, including the murder of BJP activists, were arrested. All political parties also extended support at the all-party meeting  initiated by the government. Earlier during  question hour, he  said that once the ongoing Vigilance probe into the medical college recognition scam involving BJP leaders was over,  the government would decide whether to seek a probe by a central agency.

While the chief minister condemned the lynching incidents by the BJP Sangh Parivar activists across the nation as well as political violence in the state  during the tenures  of the previous UDF governments, Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala hit back stating that the chief minister had ignored the murders of T.P. Chandrasekharan, Shukkoor and Aslam  in which CPM leaders and activists were accused. It was unfortunate that the chief minister did not condemn the recent attack on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi though the Congress leaders had condemned the earlier attack on CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury. He also alleged that the CPM and the BJP were unleashing the violence as part of a mutual understanding to cover up their failures in the state and at the centre.

The Opposition also flayed the chief minister for meeting the Governor as soon as he was summoned. “The way the chief minister sat before the Governor was a shame to the entire state,” the Opposition Leader alleged. Mr Muraleedharan said that the BJP and the CPM were competing to increase the number of martyrs. He also flayed the chief minister for the rude behaviour towards mediapersons who had gone to cover  a meeting of top leaders of the CPM, BJP and RSS. The Opposition shouted slogans in the House raising banners over  the CPM-BJP violence as the session began.