Congress-led UDF to hold 'final protest' demanding Kerala CM's resignation

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 27 (PTI) The Congress-led UDF on Friday announced a "final protest" demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, citing various issues, including the disruption of the Pooram festival in Thrissur by the police, allegedly to help the BJP in winning that central Kerala Lok Sabha seat.

UDF convener M M Hassan stated that the alliance would organise evening protest gatherings in front of the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram and at district headquarters across 13 districts on October 8.

"The UDF's demands include a judicial inquiry into the disruption of the Thrissur Pooram, the resignation of the chief minister for protecting mafias, the suspension of corrupt ADGP M R Ajithkumar, and an investigation into illegal wealth accumulation," Hassan said at a press conference.

Earlier, the Congress and the UDF had claimed that police were given explicit orders to disrupt the Pooram celebrations, allegedly to facilitate the BJP's electoral success in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency during the Lok Sabha elections.

BJP candidate Suresh Gopi won the elections, marking the saffron party's first electoral victory in the Lok Sabha polls from Kerala.

In response to the allegations made by Nilambur MLA P V Anvar against the chief minister and his government, Hassan clarified that the UDF will not politically shelter the independent MLA, who allegedly supported the corrupt practices of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government.

According to Hassan, the current conflict between the chief minister and Anvar is an internal CPI(M) issue, and the MLA is merely repeating allegations that the opposition has been raising for the past three years.

He noted that it was the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, who "exposed the CPI(M)-RSS nexus," and Anvar's reaction only reinforces that stance.

"Throughout the Vijayan government's term, the opposition has highlighted multiple corruption scandals, but no one from the CPI(M) publicly addressed these issues," Hassan remarked.

He questioned Anvar's silence over the years when the opposition was actively protesting against the scandals in the Legislative Assembly, noting that "Anvar, who remained silent, supported the government by raising his hand as an MLA during that time". PTI TGB HMP KH