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Congress slams Kerala govt for booking priest after protests against ministers
Ministers V Sivankutty, Antony Raju, and GR Anil faced protests when they visited Muthalapozhi after four fishermen drowned when their boat capsized there
Opposition Congress leader VD Satheesan has slammed the Kerala Police and the state government for booking Latin Archdiocese of Trivandrum’s Fr Eugine Pereira for allegedly inciting a riot following protests in Thiruvananthapuram district’s Muthalapozhi against state ministers on Monday.
Ministers V Sivankutty, Antony Raju, and GR Anil faced protests when they visited Muthalapozhi after four fishermen drowned when their boat capsized near the mouth of the harbour in Thiruvananthapuram. Residents have been flagging unscientific construction of groynes near the harbour mouth, which have resulted in accidents.
The protests against the ministers and the case against Pereira have deepened the rift between the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led government and the Latin Church, which enjoys clout in Thiruvananthapuram’s coastal areas. The friction emerged last year over the Latin Church’s anti-Adani port agitation in Vizhinjam.
Satheesan on Tuesday accused the ministers of making provocative remarks related to the agitation. “They said there were protests against them because the earlier Vizhinjam agitation organised by the church failed. Slamming that agitation is akin to insulting the people of coastal areas. The government has failed to protect the lives of the people of Muthalapozhi. It must immediately withdraw the case filed against...Pereira.”
State Congress chief K Sudhakaran also condemned the case against Pereira and called the behaviour of the ministers “not good”.
Raju slammed the Congress, saying the party was losing its grip in the coastal constituencies. He accused the Congress of giving communal undertones to the boat tragedy and trying to take political mileage.
