THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Contrary to the wholehearted support given to "Bharat Bandh" on April 2, the ruling CPM in Kerala adopted a confrontational stand towards the hartal called by dalit outfits in the state on Monday to protest against dilution of atrocities act and killing of 11 persons. The dalit leaders alleged that the DGP was given clear direction from the political bosses to take stern action against hartal supporters. This was evident from the arrest of over 100 activists across the state. Similarly, KSRTC which suspends its operations even in the wake of hartals by insignificant organisations, was under orders to operate all services.
The dalit leaders alleged that this could not have been possible without the blessings of political leadership. "Scores of activists were taken into preventive custody reminding of Karunakaran era. I was doing Facebook live after cops refused to rush an activist who complained of chest pain, to hospital. Soon I was whisked away by the police," said activist Purushan Eloor. "It was a hartal against BJP led Centre's anti-dalit stand. While CPM may have its own political limitations considering it has its own organisations like Pattikajathi Kshema Samithi (PKS) and Adivasi Kshema Sabha (AKS), we never expected the government to use police and other administrative measures to crush the hartal," said Dalit activist Dhanya Raman.
However, CPM leader Anavoor Nagappan said there was no deliberate attempt from LDF to defeat the agitation. "I don't claim that all arrests were justified. But police may have to act in certain circumstances. KSRTC may have tried to operate services on its own. There was no direction from the government," he added. The CPM leader said his party backed the dalit agitation against dilution of atrocities act and killing of 11 persons during bharat bandh.
PKS president and CPM Rajya Sabha MP K. Soma Prasad denied the charge that police force was misused. "We had expressed our solidarity with the issues raised by hartal supporters," he said. But the dalit organisations doubt the CPM intentions. They say the anti-hartal stand of Left parties had in fact given dalit outfits to prove their independent strength. "Unlike other hartals, this one was truly political. It triggered a huge debate on dalit issues on the social medial and news channels. That is the biggest take away of the protest," said Mr Purushan. The dalit outfits are now gearing up for the next leg of their protest on April 14 which is also Ambedkar Jayanti.
