The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday, separately, asked the State government to brace itself for a season of street protests if General Education Minister V. Sivankutty continued in office.
Both the Opposition parties said the Minister “who had run riot” in the Assembly in 2015 had lost the moral right to be in the government after the Supreme Court overturned the State government’s “dubious” decision to withdraw the criminal case registered against him and other LDF leaders in connection with the act of vandalism.
The parties said Mr. Sivankutty’s “despicable conduct” in the House remained vivid in public memory. The Minister was a flawed model for students and should quit, they averred.
March turns violent
The Opposition protest against Mr. Sivankutty in the House spilled over to the street, with the police firing water jets to disperse a Kerala Student’s Union (KSU) march that turned violent near the Assembly gate.
Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who inaugurated the protest, said the LDF government would pay a heavy price for protecting Mr. Sivankutty. The Minister’s action as a legislator in 2015 was indefensible and a blot on the Assembly’s otherwise sterling law-making record, he said.
Congress workers also marched to District Collectorates in the State to press their demand for Mr. Sivankutty’s resignation.
Congress leader V. M. Sudheeran demanded a public apology from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He asked the ruling front to reimburse the substantial legal fee drawn from the public exchequer to defend the LDF leaders in vain and against sound advice.
The BJP also marched to the government Secretariat, demanding Mr. Sivankutty’s resignation. BJP State general secretary P. Sudheer said the CPI(M) had cited parliamentary privilege to cover up for Mr. Sivankutty’s “criminal act” in the Assembly.
