Thiruvananthapuram/Kannur: Distancing itself from the attack on AKG Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, the Congress on Friday said it was scripted by LDF convener E P Jayarajan, even as CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan urged the party cadre to organise peaceful people's protests across the state.
Balakrishnan termed the incident part of a deliberate attempt to create unrest, aimed at projecting the law and order situation in the state in a bad light. The attack on AKG Centre was a continuation of this deliberate attempt that has been going on for the past few days.
Opposition leader V D Satheesan, meanwhile, said the Congress party had no role in the incident. He sought to know whether the Congress would make such an attempt even as the government has been on the defensive (over gold smuggling accused Swapna Suresh's allegations against Pinarayi Vijayan and family).
The CPM had accused Congress even before the police probed the incident and found the culprit, he said. Condemning the allegation against Congress, Satheesan said even the CPM statement accusing Congress was prepared in advance.
Echoing a similar view, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K Sudhakaran said the incident was based on LDF convener Jayarajan's personal script, played out to abate the relevance of Rahul Gandhi's visit to the state. He added that the incident was a deliberate attempt to divert attention from the prevailing political situation.
It was Jayarajan who first accused the Congress, Sudhakaran continued. Only someone well known to the AKG Centre could carry out such an attack since the building has CCTV surveillance cameras all around it.
CPM secretary Balakrishnan, meanwhile, minced no words. Efforts have been made by the right front organisations to provoke those who love the party, he said, adding that setting the party flag on fire, and attacking media houses were part of such attempts.
He urged the party workers to recognize the ulterior motives of the opposition parties and act with prudence. The workers should be able to form a peaceful people's defence against the acts of the UDF-BJP combine, he said.
Balakrishnan said the combine and other communal forces have been targeting the Left parties. CPM workers should mobilise and rally people against this politics. He requested all those who love the CPM not to fall prey to the UDF's strategy to provoke them.
KPCC's Sudhakaran, however, asked whether any wise person would believe that the Congress was behind the attack on the very day Rahul Gandhi was to arrive in the state. Calling upon the CPM workers to realize the failure of the Home Department, he added that Kerala would discard Jayarajan's obtuseness in holding Congress responsible.
"Let the police investigate and bring out the truth," Sudhakaran suggested before adding that those who had attacked Sandeepananda Giri's ashram were yet to be identified. The CPM has the capability to carry out such attacks using goonda gangs, he said.
The attack on the ashram at Kundamankadavu in Thiruvananthapuram had left two cars and a scooter gutted on October 27, 2018, soon after the Supreme Court verdict that allowed women of all ages to visit the Sabarimala temple.
Further targeting Jayarajan, Sudhakaran urged the LDF in a Facebook post to remind its convener that it was not Vishu to play with firecrackers. He asked the CPM leadership to take the initiative to place the "wise" convener in a museum instead of the AKG Centre.
"CPM is a party of cowards that has vowed to kill unarmed people under the cover of darkness and to lob explosives at offices at midnight. The Congress workers are not like the CPM cadre, who unleash violence in the confidence of having the support of Kodi Suni and Kirmani Manoj," Sudhakaran posted.
Kodi Suni and Kirmani Manoj were among those convicted for murdering Revolutionary Marxist Party leader T P Chandrasekharan on May 4, 2012. Suni was also an accused in the 2006 murder of Muhammed Fazil of the Popular Front of India.
Major conspiracy: Kanam
CPI state secretary said the attack on AKG Bhavan was part of a major conspiracy to create anarchy in Kerala. The incident was part of a planned attack on CPM and LDF, the CPI leader told the media after visiting the AKG Centre.
Move to sabotage peace: P K Sreemathy
The attack on the building named after the great AKG was a hugely condemnable act, CPM leader P K Sreemathy said. It was an attempt to sabotage the peaceful atmosphere in the state, she added.
