Police register case, Congress flays BJP

A group of women activists of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday conducted a purification ritual by sprinkling cow dung-laced water at the venue at Kottarakara where Congress leader Kodikunnil Suresh, MP, undertook a 24-hour fast on Wednesday/Thursday. District-level leaders of the BJP were present on the occasion.

The Kottarakara police on Friday registered a case under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the Mahila Morcha activists following a complaint lodged by the State committee of the Bharatiya Dalit Congress. The police said no arrest has been made so far.

Mr. Suresh, who is from a Scheduled Caste, staged the fast in protest against the alleged apathetic attitude of the Madurai Railway Division towards Kerala. His main allegation was that Railways had failed to provide even basic amenities at the stations in the Kollam-Punalur section.

In a statement, District Congress Committee president Bindu Krishna said the so-called ritual betrayed the inherent intolerance of the BJP towards the Scheduled Castes. The BJP followed a feudal code of conduct that embraces the caste system.

BJP charge

Meanwhile, the district unit of the BJP condemned the police action. In a statement, BJP district president G. Gopinath said they were protesting against the false allegations being aired against the Central government.

“But the police have falsely implicated the BJP activists in a criminal case and this is highly condemnable. The Congress, on the other hand, quickly played the caste card to give a communal twist to the protest,” he said.

Mr. Gopinathan asked Mr. Suresh to clarify whether the fast he undertook was under the banner of the Congress or any community.