Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is responsible for child trafficking, alleges Opposition

Leader of the Opposition in Kerala V.D. Satheesan says safety of women, children is imperilled under the LDF

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan on Wednesday said the abduction and trafficking of Anupama S. Chandran’s infant had the backing of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and a set of Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leaders.

Mr. Satheesan said the child was exiled to Andhra Pradesh with their knowledge and consent. Some CPI(M) Ministers were also part of the plot to deny a mother her natural-born child. It is tantamount to human trafficking.

Intervention of CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Vrinda Karat and CPI(M) Central committee member P. K. Sreemathy at the CM’s level yielded no result. Mr. Vijayan chaired the State Child Welfare Council (SCWC) and his silence was conspiratorial, he said.

Mr. Vijayan had maintained a similar enigmatic silence when Tamil Nadu inadvertently revealed that Kerala had given covert consent to strengthen the baby dam at Mullaperiyar, he said.

The hastily withdrawn order had nearly scuttled the State’s prospect for obtaining Supreme Court sanction for building a new barrier to replace the 126-year-old levee and cast 40 lakh people living downstream in a permanent state of fear, he added.

Mr. Satheesan said the CPI(M) appointees at the helm of the SCWC and the Child Welfare Committee were the main culprits. They had tweaked official records to erase the identity of the child. They blotted out Anupama’s visits to the Council in search of her child, which was abandoned in the electronic cradle against her wishes.

The Opposition leader said there was an attempt to present another child for DNA testing to thwart Anupama’s claim of biological parentage. The Council had gone ahead with the adoption process despite Anupama’s protest, and its actions were patently illegal.

Party code

The CPI(M) has attempted to enforce the party code in all arms of the Government. The ruling party acted as if it was the law and the State. The government had protected an officer found aiding the accused in the infamous Uthara dowry-related murder case in Kollam, said Mr. Satheesan.

In Aluva, the officer insulted a dowry harassment victim, prompting her to commit suicide. The law student had damned the Circle Inspector in her suicide note. The officer had received a posting because of his CPI(M) connections, he alleged.

Stating that women and children had no protection in the State, Mr. Satheesan said the Government paid lip service to gender justice and equality but acted in a patriarchal and misogynist manner.