A police complaint has been filed against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the leaders of the ruling LDF for violating the COVID-19 protocol while celebrating the front's victory in the assembly polls.
Former union minister and senior Kerala Congress leader P C Thomas has lodged the complaint at the Cantonment Station in Thiruvananthapuram. Thomas, in his complaint, accused the leaders of violating the COVID-19 protocol and triple lockdown norms.
Vijayan and 22 others had gathered at the AKG Centre, the CPM's headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, on Monday when the district is under triple lockdown, and cut a cake marking the celebration of the assembly poll victory without maintaining the social distancing norms. Thomas in his complaint termed the gathering 'illegal'.
Their act was a punishable offence under various sections of the Kerala Epidemic Diseases Act and the Indian Penal Code besides the violation of the guidelines of the Centre and the Constitutional norms, Thomas claimed.
Besides Vijayan, the MLAs and Ministers, who took part in the celebration, violated the oath of office under the Third Schedule of the Constitution and so became disqualified to hold such positions now, he alleged.
"The chief minister, in his daily press briefings, used to tell people about the necessity to follow the protocol to check the spread of the pandemic. The same person has now violated all the guidelines. The visuals of the celebration aired by TV channels are a proof for this," Thomas said in a video message.
A minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government, the leader urged the police to probe the incident and take necessary action against the guilty.
The Kerala Congress, headed by Thomas, had quit the BJP-led NDA and merged with another Kerala Congress faction headed by P J Joseph, which is a constituent of the Congress-led UDF, ahead of April 6 assembly polls.
Thomas, who helped the NDA register its first electoral victory in Kerala by winning the 2004 Lok Sabha polls from then Muvattupuzha seat, quit the BJP-led alliance alleging that his party was neglected by the front when the seats were allocated.
