The State police should clarify who all were the extremist elements, as alleged by them, involved in the Puthuvype protest, said Kanam Rajendran, the State secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI).
“A senior police official brought in the extremist angle to the agitation to defend the police excess. Since the police have the details of all those who are involved in the protest, the authorities should list out the persons with extremist links, as alleged by them,” he said.
The CPI leader was speaking after interacting with the agitators at Puthuvype.
The police should also clarify how the residents of Puthuvype could block the Prime Minister who was in New Delhi on June 16. A few in the police were trying to crack down on the agitation. A democratic government has the responsibility to listen to the apprehensions of people, he said.
CPI leaders P. Raju, E.K. Sivan, T.J. Anjalose, K.M. Dinakaran, K.N. Sugathan, and T.C. Sanjith were among those who visited the agitators.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president M.M. Hassan asked the government to ‘end the practice of crushing people’s agitations with iron fist’. He too visited the protesters on Tuesday.
“No government can crush the resistance of masses with force. The Chief Minister seemed to be losing his self-control when faced with such agitations. The Congress will stand by the agitators,” Mr. Hassan said.
District Congress Committee president T.J. Vinod, Joseph Vazhakkan, and other leaders accompanied Mr. Hassan.
IOC’s stand
Meanwhile, amidst the mounting protests against its upcoming LPG terminal project at Puthuvype, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOC) on Tuesday issued a statement saying that the project would significantly help reduce the backlog in LPG cylinder supply in the State while also minimising the movement of bulk LPG tankers through highways.
