CHENNAI: In a setback to the ruling CPM, Kerala High Court on Friday put a spanner in the conduct of party district conferences by banning all meetings and conferences attended by more than 50 people. The CPM's two-day Kasargod district conference was inaugurated on Friday and was reportedly attended by a large number of party dignitaries and volunteers.
The ruling party kicked up a row after the Kasargod district collector Bhandari Swagat Ranveer Chand who on Thursday imposed restrictions on public functions in an attempt to curb the spread of Covid-19 cases, thereafter, withdraw the order after a high-level review meeting to discuss the Covid-19 situation in the state, chaired by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan directed the district administrations that restrictions should be imposed based on the number of hospital admissions and not on the basis of the test positivity rate (TPR).
The High Court was dealing with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the revocation of the Collector's order imposing restrictions.
The petitioner reportedly noted that he came to know through reliable media that the Covid-19 restrictions were compromised possibly to facilitate CPM district meetings. The opposition parties slammed the CPM for tweaking the Covid-19 protocol to hold the party conferences.
The Kasargod and Thrissur district conferences were inaugurated on Friday. The party had reportedly curtailed the 3-day meet to 2 days following the Covid surge.