Thiruvananthapuram: UDF has kicked off the second stage of its protest against the government’s self-financing agreement.
With Youth Congress leaders handing over the baton to UDF MLAs — Hibi Eden, Shafi Parambil and Anoop Jacob — it’s now sure that the protest against the LDF government will continue unabated.
After the arrest and hospitaliation of Youth Congress State president Dean Kuriakose and vice- president C.R. Mahesh on Tuesday, the indefinite fast they had initiated has now been taken over by the three UDF MLAs at the entrance of the Assembly complex. Expressing solidarity, Muslim League MLAs K. M. Shaji and N. Shamsudeen also joined the fast.
Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala told reporters that the LDF government should not dream of suppressing the protest by using tear gas shells and grenades.
However, there is confusion in the Congress camp on how to end the protest now with the Supreme Court deciding to stick with the existing admission procedure. At the same time, they are also aware that the LDF government would not surrender easily to their demands.
But Congress leaders are taking heart in the fact that Kerala Congress (M) chairman K.M. Mani has become ‘immaterial’ in the Assembly after he opted to have a separate block. “The government has decided to give a free hand to Vigilance director Jacob Thomas. This has come as a huge blow for Mr Mani. It shows that Mr Mani is never going to get the support from either the UDF or the LDF camp,” said a top Congress leader.
Former chief minister Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala and other UDF MLAs also joined the protest. The three MLAs are continuing their fast despite the adjournment of the Assembly.
An emergency meeting of the UDF allies will be held at Cantonment House at 3 pm on Thursday to discuss the future course of the action on the indefinite fast by Congress MLAs.
