Congress in Kerala starts striking back at 'life-saving act'

Provoked at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's justification of the "brutal attack" on them by the police and CPM-DYFI activists for waving black flags, the Congress and Youth Congress have launched violent stirs, even using pepper sprays.

A protest march led by the Youth Congress to the government secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday turned violent, causing injuries to many YC activists and police, and damage to police vehicles.

On Tuesday, Congress-YC workers resisted a CPM-DYFI attack not just by hitting back but also by using pepper spray on them in Kollam.

Opposition leader V D Satheesan of the Congress said that the Congress would be forced to take the law into their hands as the police were not taking action against the "goons engaged by the Chief Minister" to assault Congress-YC workers.

Even as video footage of Congress-YC workers waving black flags at the Chief Minister's vehicle being beaten up by CPM-DYFI workers had emerged from various places over the last few weeks, the Chief Minister justified those as "life-saving acts" to save the Congress-YC workers from being hit by his vehicle. This provoked the Congress-YC activists to launch violent protests.

The protest march to the government secretariat turned violent after the YC workers, led by state president Rahul Mamkootathil, tried to break the police barricades. The situation worsened after the dresses of some women activists were torn in police action. Police vehicles and protection shields used by the police were damaged in the clashes.

After the workers dispersed, a police party went to the district Congress committee office to arrest workers who allegedly damaged properties. Congress leaders and workers resisted the move.

The Congress-YC workers also staged protests in front of all police stations on Wednesday.

A major protest march to the state police headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, led by Kerala PCC president K Sudhakaran, is planned on December 23, the day on which the government's ongoing mass outreach programme 'Nava Kerala Sadas' culminates.