CPM was left alone to come out against the pre-dawn arrest of strongman M M Mani in Idukki on Wednesday, while LDF coalition partners, especially the second biggest ally CPI, remained aloof and even dissociated itself from the hartal declared by the ‘big brother’ in the hilly district for Thursday.
Mani was booked at the end of ‘Operation Ringtone’, for his verbal volley aimed at the gallery six months ago, claiming a clear role for the party in the Ancheri Baby murder case.
Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan said that the manner in which Mani was arrested, as in the case of thieves, is highly objectionable. “The courtesy which should be shown towards public workers was not there. There may be difference of opinion with regard to Mani’s speech and the party itself has taken action against him. But the way in which he was arrested is not fair,’’ Achuthanandan told reporters here on Wednesday.
‘’Such an approach is not there in the case of K Sudhakaran MP and no case has been registered against him. The government action is discriminatory,’’ he pointed out. CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan termed the arrest and its style as one which reflected the disrespect and challenge posed by the UDF Government to the rule of law . ‘’Mani’s arrest is the result of a wish to overcome the political crisis in which the UDF Government is mired. To wreak political vendetta, the government has even misused the law and order machinery,’’ he blamed.
“Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan had directly intervened to subjugate the police force into a political tool, when the writ petitions filed by Mani in the High Court as well as in the Supreme Court against the police case initiated now are yet to be decided,’’ Pinarayi said CPM politburo member and Opposition deputy leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said the action against Mani shows that justice is of two kind. ‘’Even in the case of terrorists, such an arrest as in the case of Mani was not resorted to,’’ he said.
The party central leadership also expressed strong resentment over Mani’s arrest, calling it an undemocratic act.
Politburo member M A Baby charged that the police action against Mani was intended to divert public attention from the negative image which has come to stay in the state against the UDF government, owing to the adverse remarks passed recently by Defence Minister A K Antony.
‘’Without initiating cases against UDF leaders, the government’s retaliatory action against the LDF leaders shows the double standards. Case has not been initiated against UDF MLA involved in even double murder,’’ Baby said.