THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The twin murder of DYFI workers at Venjaramoodu in Thiruvananthapuram late on Sunday has given a beleaguered CPM a fresh lease of life after a barrage of allegations by the Opposition had pushed them into a corner over the past few months.The development, however, put the Congress on the defensive even as the KPCC leadership condemned the incident maintaining that the party cannot be blamed for a murder that happened because of gang rivalry.
The CPM has decided to observe a black day across the state on Wednesday, by ensuring Covid-19 protocol, in protest against the twin murders. The CPM had found itself in a quandary early on Sunday following the suicide of S Anu over his inability to get a government job despite securing the 77th rank in the Civil Excise Officer (Thiruvananthapuram) examination conducted by the Public Service Commission.
The youth’s death led to widespread protests against the LDF Government across the state. But in less than 24 hours, the tables were turned after the two DYFI workers were hacked to death allegedly by Congress workers, much to the anguish of the KPCC leadership.On Monday, when Malayalis celebrated Thiruvonam, the three political fronts were hurling allegations at each other in the aftermath of the twin murder.
KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran and Youth Congress state leadership held a fast in front of Indira Bhavan and the PSC office, respectively, the same day, which also saw DYFI activists unleashing an attack against the Youth Congress protest.On Tuesday, after visiting the family members of the two DYFI youths, Industries minister E P Jayarajan accused Attingal MP Adoor Prakash of being informed of the murders by the accused. The latter has challenged the CPM to prove it.According to the CPM call to observe a black day across all branch committees in the state, five leaders will converge at one centre from 4pm to 6pm on Wednesday. Party workers will offer floral tributes before the portraits of the two DYFI men.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala, while condemning the murders, said their rivals need not blame them. Regarding the attacks unleashed by DYFI workers on Congress offices in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Idukki, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod, Chennithala urged the CPM leadership to stop the violence against them.
“The CPM has been on the lookout for martyrs after they were feeling the heat in the gold smuggling case, Life Mission scam, backdoor appointments and other corruption cases. There were widespread attacks on the statues of Congress leaders and offices. The attackers didn’t spare the house of Anu, the youth who committed suicide. His father, Sukumaran Nair, was also threatened,” Chennithala said.Mullappally said CPM has been celebrating the deaths and initiating fund collections under the guise of the martyrs. With allegations and counter allegations being hurled at each other and several arrests being made in the twin murder, both LDF and UDF are up in arms against each other.