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Kerala court asks police to probe proof against Vijayan
The complaint claimed that the CM said the Left activists were trying to save the workers who were trying to jump in front of the bus carrying Vijayan and other ministers during the Nava Kerala Sadas
A Kerala court has directed police to investigate whether there are sufficient grounds to proceed against chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a complaint accusing him of making statements to instigate his party workers into attacking Youth Congress activists during the Nava Kerala Sadas outreach programme held by the government last year.
The Ernakulam chief judicial magistrate (CJM) court asked the Ernakulam Central police to conduct a probe under section 202 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure on a complaint filed by Mohammed Shiyas, the Ernakulam district president of the Congress.
The complaint claimed that the CM said that the Left activists were trying to save the workers who were trying to jump in front of the bus carrying Vijayan and other ministers during the Nava Kerala Sadas.
When asked about the action on protesters, CM Vijayan was quoted saying in Kannur on November 21, 2023, “When the protesters try to jump in front of the convoy, they are pushed aside. Isn’t it to save their lives? The protesters who risk their lives by jumping in front of the convoy must be shoved aside with force. I am seeing everything. Is it an attack on the protester? No, rather, it’s a life-saving act done by personnel of the DYFI and it’s a model that should be followed. Such acts must continue.”
Shiyas, in his petition before the court, argued that the CM’s remarks were provocative in nature and propelled DYFI activists to target and attack their counterparts in the Youth Congress.
Shiyas claimed that the speech instigated the Left activists to brutally attack and assault protesting YC workers on several other occasions too.
The Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Ernakulam, noted that the complaint was filed before the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) came into force.
It also noted, in its order dated October 3, that “address of the accused (Vijayan) is beyond the territorial jurisdiction of this court”.
