Govindan peddling lies, Speaker Shamseer part of conspiracy: Satheesan slams CPM over Veena George incident

Opposition Leader V D Satheesan on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the CPM leadership, accusing it of spreading falsehoods and attempting to instigate violence in the State in connection with the alleged attack on Health Minister Veena George at the Kannur railway station.

Satheesan asserted that there was no evidence to suggest that KSU activists had even gone near the minister during the protest. "There are no visuals showing KSU workers approaching the minister. Neither the police nor the railway police have any such footage. The entire episode was staged. The KSU protest was limited to a black-flag demonstration, and they could not even get close to Veena George," he told reporters.

The Minister was taken to the Kannur General Hospital on Wednesday evening after she complained of neck pain and discomfort in her hand, which the CPM claimed were caused during the KSU protest at the railway station.

The protests against Veena followed a series of reported mishaps in government hospitals, the latest being an incident in which a pair of forceps was allegedly left inside the abdomen of a 51-year-old woman during surgery. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) had publicly announced a protest against the minister.

Targeting CPM State secretary M V Govindan, Satheesan accused him of deliberately lying. "Govindan said the KSU workers twisted the minister's neck and attacked her. Let him show even one visual to prove this. He is peddling blatant lies and is unfit to hold the position he occupies," Satheesan said.

He also accused Speaker A N Shamseer, who was present at the railway station, of being part of what he termed a conspiracy. "Shamseer also spoke untruths. He should not have been part of this drama," Satheesan alleged.

Echoing the allegations, Kerala Students Union (KSU) state president Aloshious Xavier said Govindan should be arrested for inciting violence. "Even after the protest, the minister walked to the platform without any physical difficulty. It was only later that she showed signs of distress, after speaking to the Speaker. This is all part of a planned conspiracy," he claimed while addressing the media in Kochi.

Aloshious also pointed out that the medical bulletin did not mention any serious injuries and accused the CPM of staging the incident for political gain. "The injury on her hand was there the previous days also," he added. 

Meanwhile, Satheesan condemned what he described as retaliatory attacks by CPM workers on Congress offices and campaign materials across the state. "The CPM is widely destroying Congress posters and banners of the Puthuyuga Yatra. A Congress office in Kannur was set on fire, and campaign materials of the yatra were also destroyed in Thiruvananthapuram," he said.