A youth Congress worker sustained serious injuries on Monday, November 20, after an attack by the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] workers in Kannur. The incident occurred when the youth Congress worker waved a black flag at the Chief Minister's vehicle during the Nava Kerala Sadas, the mass outreach program of the LDF government.
Speaking to the media in Kannur on Tuesday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that jumping in front of a moving vehicle with a black flag was not a form of protest but an act of aggression. According to Vijayan, DYFI workers were attempting to save the life of the young Congressman by preventing him from engaging in such dangerous actions.
The Pazhayangadi police have registered a case against 14 CPI(M)-DYFI workers in connection with the attack. The Congress workers reportedly jumped in front of the cavalcade of the Chief Minister and other ministers while they were travelling through the Pazhayangadi area.
Pinarayi said the clash was a result of uneasiness among some individuals about the growing popularity of the Nava Kerala Sadas. He emphasised that the government was not against democratic protests but criticised the act of jumping with a black flag onto a moving vehicle as aggressive.
Reacting to a media report that showed a picture where complaints submitted to him during the Nava Kerala Sadas were found dumped on the floor, Pinarayi said the envelopes were left behind after recording and storing the received complaints. “One can see the bag of the employee who did that job near those envelopes in the photograph. Still, they gave fake news. Receipts are also given for complaints and petitions received. This is to let the public know about the status of complaints later. What can be done if people welcome Nava Kerala, ignoring such propaganda," he said.
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