Confrontational political protests demanding Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's resignation buffeted the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government on Sunday.
The protracted and bitter furore over Mr. Vijayan’s alleged misuse of the UAE consulate’s diplomatic channel for ‘smuggling contraband metal and tranches of foreign currency’ during the previous administration spurred Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers to attempt to waylay him on his way to attend public functions in Malappuram and Kozhikode.
A cavalcade of police vehicles whisked Mr. Vijayan to the venues cocooned in several layers of VIP security. Along the route, Congress, BJP and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) workers greeted the CM's motorcade with black flags and jeers.
At Tavanoor in Malappuram, frenzied anti-government demonstrators scaled police barricades. They attempted to overrun the phalanx of law enforcers in anti-riot gear.
Television news channels magnified the protests with real-time coverage. They also broadcast footage of police stopping vehicles, barricading main thoroughfares, imposing traffic restrictions ‘without notice’, and forcing families to take detours to their homes.
Removal of black masks
Few channels showed police ordering passersby to remove black masks and supplant them with coloured ones provided by the government.
The ‘clampdown’ on black prompted Opposition workers to adopt the colour as a symbol of their resistance to the government. Anti-government demonstrators flaunted black shirts and black masks. They waved black flags as they braved water cannons, toppled iron barricades, and skirmished with the police in North Kerala.
The heightened police security for Mr. Vijayan drew flak from the Opposition. Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan said Mr. Vijayan had sought cover behind the police to shield himself from damning accusations. Taxpayers finally picked up the tab for Mr. Vijayan's "fears".
Union Minister of State for External Affairs. V. Muraleedharan compared Mr. Vijayan to German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. He said the government's attempt to clamp down on black to cater to Mr Vijayan's "fear of dissent" was "fascist".
CPI(M) stance
CPI(M) weighed in with support for Mr. Vijayan. Polit Bureau member Prakash Karat perceived a Congress-BJP axis to target Mr. Vijayan by amplifying non-issues with no consequence. LDF convener E.P. Jayarajan and M.V. Govindan also defended the enhanced security for M. Vijayan. The Congress and the BJP warned that they would escalate their protests against Mr. Vijayan.
