THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The UDF camp hopes to politically cash in on the midnight police raid on the rooms of women Congress leaders at a hotel in Palakkad which went on for several hours. Congress state president K Sudhakaran rushed to the spot and led a massive protest which saw top UDF leaders also lining up.
High drama prevailed at KPM Regency Hotel, ever since KSU Palakkad secretary Fenny Ninan came there with a blue trolley suitcase and laptop bag, where leaders of all three mainstream political parties have been staying. This is not the first time Fenny has been in the eye of the storm. During the run-up to the Youth Congress state president election, Fenny was charged with fabricating the Election Commission of India’s voters’ identity card. Palakkad MP V K Sreekandan, who is also the chairman of the election committee, had called a review meeting on Wednesday.
Candidate Rahul Mamkoottathil and Vadakara MP Shafi Parambil who is spearheading the election campaign, decided to stay back in the hotel to prepare the game plan for the next round. With the ECI extending the byelection by a week in Palakkad, Sreekandan and his team had decided to take stock of their campaigning and ways to improve it.
“If the CPM and BJP had any grievances, they should have informed the ECI’s observers. It was highly deplorable that they raided the room of women leaders close to midnight and that too without women police officers in the team. Now the good thing is that we have cashed in on the situation politically much to the chagrin of our rivals. Things have gone out of control for the CPM and BJP,” Sreekandan told TNIE.
When the raid snowballed into a major controversy, Sudhakaran advanced his programme and reached Palakkad where he inaugurated the UDF’s protest march. He maintained that Rahul is having ‘shukra mahadasha’ implying that the Youth Congress state president will romp home when Palakkad goes to polls on November 20. Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan met the media at his official residence at Cantonment House, where he condemned the midnight raid.
“The midnight raid was the result of a conspiracy hatched by LSG Minister M B Rajesh and his brother-in-law Nithin Kanicherry which had the blessings of the BJP leadership and Chief Minister’s Office. Rajesh should step down from office for humiliating women leaders,” said Satheesan.
Congress Working Committee leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the midnight raid was conducted by the CPM - BJP to divert attention from the Kodakara hawala case.
