THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has been shedding crocodile tears over the Citizenship Amendment Act keeping electoral gains in mind, alleged senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala.
A day after Pinarayi blamed the Congress leadership for its silence on CAA, the Congress campaign committee chairman shot back saying it was Pinarayi who sabotaged the joint agitation against the CAA in 2019.
Pinarayi tried to suppress the agitations against CAA far worse than what UP CM Yogi Adityanath did, he said. Chennithala recalled that it was he, in his capacity as the then Leader of Opposition, who urged the chief minister to launch a joint agitation.
“Based on the demand, the UDF and the LDF held joint agitation at Palayam Martyrs’ Square. A resolution was also unanimously passed in the Assembly based on this. However, the government later suppressed subsequent agitations held across the state in this regard. Cases with serious charges were registered against many people including Congress leader T Siddique,” he pointed out.
Chennithala alleged that, as directed by the Centre, Pinarayi Vijayan set up a preventive custody home to accommodate those taking part in the agitations.
He was ironically opposing CAA, while suppressing agitations against the legislation. If the CM is sincere in his approach, he should first withdraw the cases slapped against the agitators.
