THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister V D Satheesan has termed the attack by CPM workers against Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers as a serious criminal offence. The ED did not inform or seek support from the state government or police in connection with Wednesday’s raids, including that at the Opposition leader’s residence, he said.
The attackers should be described as criminals, he said. “They damaged the car and attacked the passengers inside, including a woman. The CPM leaders should not have allowed it,” he said.
The CM congratulated the home minister for sending police personnel to the protest venue near the leader of opposition’s residence. Police intervention prevented the situation from escalating. He also defended the police for yielding to the CPM leader who prevented a search at the party’s area committee office. It helped in keeping the situation under control, he told reporters here on Friday.
Satheesan ridiculed the Opposition’s allegation that the raids followed his recent visit to the Prime Minister. “I made the routine courtesy call to the PM after assuming office. Pinarayi Vijayan had made similar visits twice in the past, after becoming the chief minister. I met the prime minister in person for the first time,” he said.
Satheesan then jokingly said: “At the first meeting I asked Modi to raid Pinarayi Vijayan’s house. He immediately rang up the ED and said: Satheesan has made a request for the first time. Please raid those premises.”
Satheesan also criticised the ED for delaying action in the case. The case was registered four years back and the ED did nothing until the LDF government demitted office. Satheesan said his government had nothing to do with ED’s functioning, let alone the raids. We cannot criticise their actions or dictate terms. They conducted the raids after the High Court granted permission to them to do so,” he said.
He criticised the media for following him to every place he visited, for a response. “I could make a comment only after studying the issue,” he said.
CM’S REMARKS SPARK DEBATE ON SCHOOL SYLLABUS
T’PURAM: Chief Minister V D Satheesan’s observation that Kerala’s school curriculum had become outdated and required periodic revision has sparked a political row, with former general education minister and CPM leader V Sivankutty dismissing the remarks as unfounded. Sivankutty pointed out that the previous LDF government had undertaken a comprehensive revision of the school curriculum after a gap of 14 years.
He alleged that the UDF government was seeking to use curriculum revision as a pretext to implement the BJP-led Union government’s National Education Policy (NEP) and facilitate the “saffronisation” of school education. Seeking to defuse the controversy, General Education Minister N Samsudheen said the Chief Minister’s remarks should be viewed in the proper context. According to him, Satheesan was referring to persistent gaps in learning outcomes among students, including those in higher classes, and highlighting the need to address them through timely academic interventions.
