Congress resorts to 'terror acts' as violent agitations failed, alleges LDF

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 14 (PTI) As Kerala continued to witness widespread protests by opposition parties seeking Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's resignation over the gold smuggling case, the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) on Tuesday alleged the protests lacked any mass support of the people and they were indulging in "terror acts" as their violent agitations failed miserably.

The protest staged by the Youth Congress activists against the Chief Minister aboard an aircraft last evening was the latest example of such terror acts, LDF convenor E P Jayarajan told reporters here.

Asking how could the Congress activists make an aircraft a venue of a protest, he criticised the party leadership of supporting the act and charged that it was an attempt to attack the Chief Minister inside the flight.

It was a plan masterminded by the Congress leadership but it failed, he said.

He also rejected media reports that there have been massive protests across the state seeking Vijayan's resignation.

"There are no mass protests in the state. Those trying to break the police barricade in many places were not the common people but criminals and quotation gangs," he said.

He also rejected the Congress' allegation that it was Jayarajan, who had pushed down the Youth Congress activists inside the aircraft, was the one who indulged in violence inside the flight.

Justifying his action, the former state minister said he only tried to protect the CM by blocking the path of the protesters and the airline company and the airport authorities should have thanked him for that.

The Congress activists are indulging in 'terror acts' as their violent agitations fail miserably and their objective was to curtail the state's development, he alleged.

The party veteran further charged that the BJP-RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami were extending support to the Congress in their violent protests.

Meanwhile, the state witnessed massive protests by the Congress activists on Tuesday seeking the Chief Minister's resignation and against the attack on their party offices in various places.

Police took into custody three youths, reportedly including an activist of the CPI(M)'s youth wing DYFI, for intruding into the campus of Cantonment House, the official residence of V D Satheesan, the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, with some armaments.

The LoP later said there was a conspiracy behind Left activists barging into his residence.

Vijayan has been facing protests from Congress and BJP workers ever since gold smuggling case prime accused Swapna Suresh alleged that he and his family members had a role in some smuggling activities.

The situation in the state became tense after two Youth Congress workers, one of them wearing a black shirt, raised slogans against Vijayan inside an aircraft in which he travelled from Kannur to Thiruvananthapuram after it landed here on Monday.