Congress protests against Kerala Police’s ‘high-handedness’ turn violent in many parts of State

Congress workers protest against Kerala Chief Minister’s alleged subversion of Kerala police to stifle dissent, resulting in minor injuries. Congress activists protest against Kerala Police in many parts of the State.

The Congress’s ire against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s alleged subversion of the State police to stifle democratic dissent spilt violently onto the streets in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi on December 20 (Wednesday).

Congress workers, braving water cannons, also battled police officers in riot gear in other parts of Kerala, resulting in minor injuries to scores of persons on both sides.

The belligerent protests underscored the depth of the Congress’s outrage at Mr. Vijayan’s “brazen defence” of his personal security officers accused of extra-judicially attacking Kerala Students Union (KSU) workers detained by the local police for flaunting black flags at the VIP motorcade ferrying the Cabinet to a Navakerala Sadas venue in Alappuzha district last week.

Scores of Congress workers marched to police stations across the State to protest against what they termed the law enforcement’s “political partisanship and high-handedness.”

They also accused law enforcement of aiding and abetting Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) workers who “recurrently attacked” Congress workers protesting against the Cabinet’s progress across the State.

Earlier, the Congress had accused the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) of misusing public funds and government machinery to prosecute its pre-Lok Sabha poll campaign “cleverly camouflaged as a public outreach programme”.

Thiruvananthapuram emerged as the epicentre of the Statewide anti-government protests. Hundreds of Youth Congress workers, led by Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, converged on the State capital and laid siege to the Secretariat.