Wayanad, June 25: Congress leader and MP Rahul Gandhi, whose office here was ransacked by SFI activists, will reach Kerala on June 30 for a three-day visit in his Lok Sabha constituency in the state.
The District Congress Committee (DCC) in Wayanad will arrange a rousing reception for Rahul Gandhi on his arrival here on Thursday next, sources said.
Meanwhile, a Maha Rally is being organised by the Congress party in Kalpetta on Saturday in protest against the attack on Rahul Gandhi’s office here Friday.
Several senior Congress leaders including AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, Opposition leader in Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan, KPCC President K Sudhakaran reached here to attend the Maha Rally.
In connection with the attack, 19 SFI activists including SFI Wayanad District President Joyal Joseph and District Secretary Jishnu Shaji were arrested so far.
About 100 SFI activists took part in the protest march which turned violent leading to the ransacking of the Wayanad MP’s office. The protest march was against the local MP’s silence on the buffer zone issue.
On Friday night, the Kalpetta DySP was suspended in connection with a high-level probe into the SFI attack. The high level probe is being taking place under the supervision of ADGP Manoj Abraham.
The DySP, who was on duty during the attack on the Wayanad MP’s office, was suspended following a direction from the Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister directed the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) to complete the probe and submit the report within one week.
Earlier, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury strongly condemned the SFI attack on the office of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi MP in Wayanad.
He said “This is not how political protest should be expressed. It cannot be accepted.”
“The CPI (M) thinks that what happened was completely wrong. The Chief Minister also condemned the incident. Police initiated stern action against culprits,” he said.
Saying that SFI is an independent student organization, he said his party will take necessary action if CPI (M) members were involved in the incident.
On the ED’s action against Rahul Gandhi, he said Opposition party leaders are being haunted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at the behest of the Union Government.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also condemned the attack and criticised democratic protest turning violent.
He said “everyone has the right to stage democratic protest in our country. But it is a wrong tendency to make it violent. Stern action will be taken into those involved in the incident.”
Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennitala alleged that CPI(M) goons were behind the barbaric attack on Rahul Gandhi’s office.
Alleging that the attack was with the full knowledge of CPI(M) top leaders, he said “It is very serious that the incident took place while the police were watching.”
“It is unacceptable that a section of the police responsible for maintaining law and order turning a blind eye to violent incidents,” Chennitala condemned.
Opposition leader VD Satheesan alleged that the attack is to please BJP Centrel leaders and divert attention from diplomatic baggage gold smuggling case in which Kerala Chief Minister was involved.
The attack, with the knowledge of the Chief Minister, was aimed at diverting attention from the controversial smuggling case, the Opposition leader alleged.
The violence took place with the silent support of the police provoking to create a riot like situation in Kerala to divert attention from the case, he alleged.
On the Buffer Zone issue, he said the State Cabinet on October 23, 2019 recommended to make 1 km stretch around the forest area a buffer zone. The Left parties should stage protest marches to the Chief Minister’s office, he added.
This is part of a political conspiracy to appease Sangh Parivar and BJP Central leadership that the CPM leaders in Kerala are against Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party, he said.
Following the attack, tension prevailed in Kerala as Congress workers clashed with the police in several places including Wayanad, Palakkad, Thiruvananthapuram and Kottayam on Friday night.
The SP office march in Wayanad turned violent injuring many people. The Kottayam town turned into a battle field as Congress workers clashed with the police, blocked major roads disrupting traffic.
Meanwhile, police tightened security to AKG Centre, the headquarters of CPM in the State. Thousands of police personnel were deployed in sensitive areas to stop any kind untoward incident.
Soon after the attack on his Wayanad office, Rahul Gandhi released a copy of the letter sent to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Buffer Zone issue.
He said he wrote letters to the PM and the CM seeking their attention to the plight of the local communities of Wayanad whose livelihoods will be adversely affected by the recent Supreme Court order on the maintenance of Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ) around national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
He said “I request the Union government to address these concerns in the larger public interest and reiterate our shared commitment to balancing conservation goals with our people’s legitimate developmental needs.”
The State & the Union Governments can help by requesting dilution of a minimum width of an ESZ to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). The Supreme Court judgment considers recommendations made by the CEC & the MoEF&CC, he added.
Saying that the SC order has led to widespread protests around Wayanad parliamentary constituency, he said local communities, still reeling under the impact of the Covid pandemic have expressed grave concerns regarding the implications of this judgment on their lives and livelihoods.
The ESZ Guidelines also regulate several activities, including, the change of agriculture systems, protection of hill slopes, and erection of electrical cables.
The judgement states that no permanent structure shall be permitted to come up for whatsoever purpose within the ESZ.
As one of the most densely populated regions in the Western Ghats, such restrictions hamper the ability of local communities to improve their standard of living.
The judgement provides for the dilution of the minimum width of the ESZ in ‘overwhelming’ public interest and allows the State government to approach the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) and the Ministry of Environment,
Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&C©) regarding the same, and states that the recommendations of the CEC and MoEF&CC would be considered by the Supreme Court, the letter said.
