Kerala's major opposition Congress on Sunday labelled Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as a "sadist," "coward," "arrogant," and "psychopath," accusing him of turning the state into a "land of goondas," news agency PTI reported. AICC general secretary K C Venugopal accused the CM for the alleged deployment of water cannons and tear gas shells against top Congress politicians in Kerala, including MPs and MLAs, who were demonstrating outside the DGP's office in Thiruvananthapuram.
In a statement, Venugopal stated that the police action and attack on Youth Congress (YC) and Kerala Students' Union (KSU) members demonstrate that Vijayan was relishing the violence.
"The chief minister has a sadistic face. He is responsible for Kerala turning into a goonda raj state," he was quoted by PTI in its report.
The AICC general secretary also questioned why the CM's gunman was remained with him after being arrested for assaulting YC-KSU activists.
"What Narendra Modi is doing in Delhi, Vijayan is replicating in Kerala," he alleged.
K Sudhakaran, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president who was hospitalised a day earlier as a result of the impacts of tear gas shells that dropped near the platform where he and other party officials were standing, labelled Vijayan a "psychopath."
"He (CM) is a psychopath. Only a psychopath can act the way he has. This CM and the government are settling personal scores," the KPCC chief alleged.
After police launched tear gas shells, prominent Congress leaders in Kerala, including senior MPs and MLAs, suffocated and were hospitalised.
According to the KPCC chairman, a few of shells fell under the car on top of which the stage was set, and if they had detonated, the senior Congress officials standing atop it would have been killed.
Sudhakaran further stated that neither he nor the Congress leaders are afraid of the charges levelled against them.
Kerala Police launched a charge on Saturday against Sudhakaran, Assembly Leader V D Satheesan, and top Congress leaders, including MP Shashi Tharoor, in connection with the violence in Thiruvananthapuram during the party's march to the DGP office.
Police filed a case against Congress MPs, MLAs, leaders, and party workers who participated in the demonstration under different articles of the IPC, including rioting, impeding highways, and stopping public servants from executing their responsibilities.
"Do not try to scare us by lodging a case. We have seen many cases," Sudhakaran said.
Satheesan questioned why the Congress leaders were charged with criminal crimes and property destruction when water cannons and a tear gas shell were used against them when they were speaking on a stage near the protest location.
He, too, claimed that the filing of the case was a futile attempt to terrify Congress leaders.
Concerning the alleged use of water cannons and tear gas against Congress leaders, he claimed it was an attempt to harm or kill them because the CM was "angry and frustrated" over the failure of the state government's outreach programme, Nava Kerala Sadas, and Vijayan becoming a laughingstock in front of the public.
The LoP said that the CM set the stage for violence and rioting in the state by labelling assaults on YC-KSU activists as "rescue efforts" and vowed to continue doing so.
"Now he is asking us to exercise restraint. He (CM) turned the state into a land of goondas. The police have become mute spectators. The CM is a coward and is arrogant..." "Policing in Kerala has failed. It is being controlled by a group in the CM's office. Left party criminals are running rampant in the state without concern for law and order," he alleged while speaking at a press conference in Kochi.
He went on to say that it demonstrates the "double standards" of the CM and his government.
The double standards are also seen in the various kinds of action taken against the Students' Federation of India (SFI), the student branch of the CPI(M), and YC and KSU activists in relation to the display of black flags, according to Satheesan.
The LoP stated that the Congress and the UDF will organise major protests in the following days.
He stated that both legally and politically, the Congress will face violence against its leaders as well as YC and KSU activists.
Sudhakaran stated at a news conference in the state capital that the Congress will stage a massive block-level demonstration throughout Kerala on December 27 over alleged police abuses against them as well as YC and KSU workers.
"The year 2024 will be full of sleepless days for Pinarayi Vijayan," he added.
He stated that the Congress would seek a judicial investigation into any acts of violence against it, as well as its student and youth wings, and that if the government does not act, the Congress will file a petition in court.
In his news conference, the LoP also questioned how the Nava Kerala Sadas had helped the public and accused the CM of using it to turn the state into a battleground.
"He (CM) is questioning the logic or common sense of the people through his actions. People have realised that the Nava Kerala Sadas was a political campaign at the cost of public money," he claimed.
Satheesan further stated that the UDF will boycott K B Ganesh Kumar's inauguration since he was reportedly involved in a plot to frame late Congress leader Oommen Chandy in a fake case.
"So, we cannot go there and attend his swearing-in ceremony. We ask the CM and the government to withdraw from the decision to make him a minister," he said.