A fight broke out between Congress and CPM workers in Kuttanad, Kerala after the communists threw stones and rotten eggs on senior Congress leader cum MLA V.T. Balram. This action of the CPM workers was a result of his ‘unsavoury’ comments against deceased communist ‘icon’ A.K. Gopalan.
We had reported that Balram, in a Facebook post had insinuated that ‘revolutionary’ A.K. Gopalan, the first leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha in 1952, was a paedophile. In the post, Balram questioned Gopalan’s character for marrying a 22 year old Susheela in 1940s, after being in love with her for over a decade. It was also reported that Gopalan was still married to his first wife while he tied the knot with Susheela.
These remarks by Balram clearly angered the leftists, who on Wednesday decided to disrupt a private meeting (an inauguration of a private laboratory clinic), being attended by him in Kanjirathani, which falls under Thrithala Assembly Constituency.
Congress workers who had rushed to protect their MLA, tried to prevent this onslaught by the CPM workers, as a result of which large-scale violence broke out. During this commotion, stones and rotten eggs were hurled at Balram, despite which he decided to attend the inauguration under heavy police cover. He later confirmed the attack by informing media-persons that a rotten egg had hit his right cheek.
The stone pelting resulted in Balram sustaining a minor injury on his forehead after which he was taken to a nearby hospital in Edappal. Damage was also done to his car.
As the Congress MLA managed to successfully attend the event, the Congress workers decided to celebrate it by bursting firecrackers, which also angered the CPM workers. Clashes kept on happening for about an hour after the MLA had left the scene.
The police in order to restore control, resorted to lathicharge, which caused injuries to over 30 people. A police constable also sustained serious injuries after Congress workers decided to retaliate against this police action.
As a result of this incident, the congress-led United democratic front (UDF), has called for a bandh in the Thrithala Assembly constituency on Thursday. Former Kerala Chief Minister and Congress leader Oommen Chandy, who is embroiled in the solar scam, slammed the CPM for this incident and claimed that it reveals the fascist nature of the CPM.
