Ramya Haridas and V.K. Sreekandan, MPs of Palakkad and Alathur respectively, led separate long marches through the district in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) on Monday.
Ms. Haridas began her march from Thattamangalam in the Chittur constituency and concluded at Alathur. V.D. Satheesan, MLA, inaugurated the march by handing over the flag to Ms. Haridas.
Mr. Satheesan accused the Centre of trying to pit the people against each other by dividing them in the name of religion. He said the BJP government was trying to divert the people’s attention from major issues faced by the country. He said the country was going through the worst economic crisis as the inevitable consequences of demonetization and GST implementation.
V.S. Vijayaraghavan, former MP, presided over the function. Former MLAs K. Achuthan, K.A. Chandran and A.V. Gopinath, former DCC president C.V. Balachandran, and UDF district chairman A. Ramaswami were among those who spoke.
RSS agenda
Addressing the long march led by Mr. Sreekandan at Thiruvazhiyodu, Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said that the BJP was aiming a giant agenda of Hindu Rashtra through the CAA.
“Hindu Rashtra is an RSS agenda. The CAA is not merely against the Muslims. It is going to affect the country badly in general. The country is being led to a destructive stage,” he said.
Mr. Chennithala said that Modi government was trying to implement what Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse wanted. The BJP will destroy the country, he said.
He said that several Muslims and the British had ruled the country, but none of them had tried to destroy the religious pluralism of the country. DCC secretary O. Vijayakumar presided. C.V. Balachandran, C. Chandran and Mr. Sreekandan spoke.
