Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) members staged a walkout in the Assembly on Tuesday to protest against the murder of SFI Idukki district vice-president Aneesh Raj, allegedly by Youth Congress workers the other day.
The Opposition, which sought adjournment of the proceedings to discuss the issue, walked out of the House accusing the government of laxity in its handling of the case. Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan said that Congress and Muslim League workers were unleashing violence in different parts of the State with the tacit support of the government.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said there was no question of the government allowing political affiliations come in the way of investigations. Nor would it allow anyone to take the law into their hands. In the specific instance raised by the Opposition, the police had initiated strong measures to nab the guilty. The incident was the fallout of a quarrel over the time of opening of a shop, but had ended with the fatal stabbing of Aneesh Raj. The Nedungandom Circle Inspector was investigating the case, he said.
K.K. Jayachandran (CPI-M), who gave notice for the adjournment motion, said that the murder was pre-meditated and carried out with the support of the local Congress leadership.
The Chief Minister said that one gratifying aspect of the law and order situation in Idukki was that despite provocations, there were only four cases of intimidation of workers hailing from Tamil Nadu there. This was mainly on account of the restraint displayed by major political parties, he pointed out.
