Four activists of the Kerala Students Union (KSU), the student wing of the Congress, were arrested and charged with attempt to murder for alleged involvement in hurling a shoe at a special bus in which chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his cabinet colleagues were travelling as part of the ‘Nava Kerala Sadas’, said police.
“They were arrested late yesterday (Sunday) and will be produced in court today (Monday). Their identities cannot be revealed now,” said an officer at the Kuruppampady police station in Ernakulam district where the case was registered.
The chief minister reacted to the shoe-hurling incident by warning that such actions will be penalised appropriately.
“There was an object hurled on our bus. If the situation reaches a point where things are hurled, then there will be appropriate action. There will be no point crying over it then. They must understand that they are challenging the state by doing such things,” Vijayan said on Sunday.
At a press conference in Idukki district on Monday, CM Vijayan reiterated that protesters are choosing the path of violence through such actions.
“They are choosing the path of violence by saying that they will do it again. I want to appeal to them to withdraw from such actions. I am not saying this out of fear. Everyone knows that we will continue to go the way we have decided, come what may,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“They are choosing the path of violence by saying that they will do it again. I want to appeal to them to withdraw from such actions. I am not saying this out of fear. Everyone knows that we will continue to go the way we have decided, come what may,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}The incident of shoe-hurling was reported at Odakkali when the special bus carrying the CM and the cabinet members was heading towards Kothamangalam from Perumbavoor on Sunday evening, said police. Shortly thereafter, activists of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or the CPI(M), attacked members of the KSU and the Youth Congress, resulting in some injuries.
KSU state president Aloyshius Xavier termed the incident of hurling of the shoe an ‘emotional reaction’. “We see it as an emotional reaction by the KSU activists there to continued assaults on our colleagues by gundas (affiliated to CPM). We understand that this is not part of democratic protests. It was not a pre-planned way of protest and we don’t intend to do such protests statewide,” he said.