LDF had no role in attack: Pinarayi

CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan  on Monday denied the charge that CPM workers were behind the attack on Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in Kannur.

CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan  on Monday denied the charge that CPM workers were behind the attack on Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in Kannur.

He told mediapersons here that the fact that Chief Minister was injured in the attack made the issue a serious one.

The LDF launched the agitation against the Chief Minister in June. But there were no instances of violence against anyone unleashed by the LDF workers, he said.

 Pinarayi Vijayan said that though one lakh people had come to the state capital to lay siege to the Secretariat as part of the agitation, it saw no single incident of LDF workers resorting to violence. “When our workers were arrested and beaten up for participating in the agitation, we had not reacted to the provocation. Police tried to provoke us by hurling grenades at V S Achuthanandan and Opposition MLAs who were  staging a sit-in against the government in front of the Secretariat. VS and C Divakaran  had to undergo treatment following the incident. Even in the face of this provocation, the LDF workers did not launch attack against anyone,’’ the CPM state secretary said.

 Pinarayi Vijayan said that everybody knew that who would be the beneficiary in case of an attack on the Chief Minister. ‘’The LDF does not want a beleaguered Oommen Chandy to become a beneficiary of the agitation,’’ he said.  The LDF workers had assembled at four centres in Kannur as planned for the black flag demonstration. But no violence was reported from any of these centres, the CPM leader said.

 Pinarayi Vijayan pointed out that immediately after the incident, the Home Minister claimed that it was the CPM workers who attacked the Chief Minister. As it was a clear message from the Home Minister, several CPM workers were taken into custody the police without any delay. Many of them had not even participated in the agitation, he said.

 He said the government should give the police freedom to conduct a fair probe and bring out the truth. ‘’The real culprits should be brought to book. The Home Minister should not gag them,’’ the CPM state secretary said.

 He said the LDF would welcome any type of inquiry into the attack as causing injury to the Chief Minister was a serious issue. The CPM leader asked that whether the government had taken sufficient measures to ensure security for the Chief Minister.

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