Satheesan blames Vijayan for Vizhinjam fiasco
TRIVANDRUM: The police booked Fr Theodosius D’cruz, one of the conveners of the protests against billionaire Gautam Adani’s prestigious port project here, in yet another case.
The police report says the Catholic priest was trying to create a rit between the Christian and Muslim communities by calling fisheries minister V Abdul Rahman as a terrorist.
Reacting to Rahman levelling charges of treason against the protesters, the priest said the minister’s name had a “terrorist in it.”
He later withdrew his statement and apologised to the community ater several Muslim groups, including those supporting the ongoing port blockade, strongly condemned it.
On Thursday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan broke his silence and made a scathing atack on the protesters, primarily Christian anglers.
“Such agitations were being organised with a clear intention to destroy tranquillity in the society and upset the peaceful life,” he said addressing newly recruited police officers.
“There were widespread atacks against the law enforcers and public threats to atack the police station but the force cleverly realised the intention of the assailants.”
The fishing community began their agitation demanding compensation and rehabilitation of families displaced by coastal erosion that they primarily blame on the port building.
They stepped up pressure on the government and put up a blockade on the site demanding to stop the construction and conduct a study on its impact on their livelihood.
As the blockade crossed 100 days despite a court order to clear all obstructions, a mob of some 1,000 people atacked the local police station last week hurting many officers.
“As part of their atempt to break the peace, there were atacks against the police and open threats,” Vijayan said while addressing the passing out parade of young women officers.
“The courageous restraint of our security forces was the reason why things did not turn out the way the atackers intended.”
Joining issue with him, the leader of the opposition in the state legislature, VD Satheesan, wondered if there was an intelligence report to prove Vijayan’s claim of “terrorist links.”
“All dictators are insecure and they see people who struggle to protect their livelihood as their enemies,” he said.
“(Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi) and Vijayan share the same feeling of insecurity. The move to portray them as terrorists is part of it.”
He said some of the priests who are at the forefront of the agitation and their leaders campaigned for the Communists who returned to power in the last year’s elections.