Congress accuses Kannur CPI (M) leaders of insulting Mahatma Gandhi

Kannur (Kerala) | The Congress on Friday accused the leaders of the ruling CPI (M) in Kannur district of Kerala of insulting Mahatma Gandhi.

The party sought legal action against a Left leader who allegedly "threatened" that construction of the Mahatma Gandhi statue would not be allowed in Malappattam in this district.

Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, in a statement, alleged that the CPI(M) leaders in Kannur are outperforming the Sangh Parivar in insulting Mahatma Gandhi.

The LoP's statement came two days after the Congress leaders and workers organised a protest in Malappattam here against the alleged vandalism of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi installed by the party in the area.

Tension prevailed at Malappattam on Wednesday evening after clashes between CPI(M) and Youth Congress workers during the march led by Youth Congress state president and MLA Rahul Mamkootathil.

Satheesan, in his statement, alleged that CPI(M) district secretariat member P V Gopinath threatened that he would not allow the construction of the Gandhi statue in the area.

"The police should be ready to register a case against Gopinath for insulting Gandhi and for issuing a threat publicly (in this regard)," he said.

He alleged that Gopinath issued a threat by saying the name of the Youth Congress mandalam secretary, Saneesh.

The LoP further accused Gopinath of threatening to destroy the Gandhi statue if it is built in front of Saneesh's house or even in his kitchen.

A similar language was used by the CPI(M) Kannur district secretary as well in this regard, he alleged.

Satheesan also made it clear that the Congress would construct a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Malappattam for sure.

On Wednesday, as the Youth Congress march reached Malappattam, a clash broke out between them and the CPI(M) workers, with both sides allegedly hurling stones and bottles at each other, leading to a tense situation that lasted a few hours.

While the Congress accused CPI(M) workers of initiating the violence and targeting senior leaders, including former PCC chief and MP K Sudhakaran. The CPI(M) did not respond immediately to these charges.

The Congress had also alleged that the under-construction Gandhi statue at Malappattam was vandalised again on Wednesday night.