Thiruvananthapuram: Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan ridiculed the indefinite strike launched by Pompilai Orumai in Munnar demanding the resignation of power minister M. M. Mani. Responding to an adjournment motion moved by Congress leader V. D. Satheesan in the Assembly on Wednesday, the chief minister termed the agitation as an anaemic gathering of just four women, and claimed that the protest had been rejected by the people. The opposition disrupted proceedings after the chief minister’s speech, and for the second consecutive day legislative business was cut short.
Mr Vijayan said that the CPM had supported Pompilai Orumai when they first revolted for wage increase, and sought to differentiate between the ‘original’ Pompilai Orumai, which he said had hundreds behind it, and the latest one that had just a “handful” of protesters. V. D. Satheesan, while moving his motion, asked why the government was afraid if it was a protest carried out by just four women. Satheesan said that the CPM and the police were trying all they could to scupper the protest. Later, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala asked why cases were slapped against 32 people if only four women were part of the protest.
Chennithala also made fun of the chief minister’s number argument. “An agitation is not measured in terms of the number of people who participate in it but on the strength of issues it raises,” the opposition leader said. “I have seen CPM organising agitations in Delhi with just 12 people. There were lesser people in the protests they organised in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu,” Chennithala said. The chief minister stuck to his stand that Mani had uttered nothing wrong. “Now, channels have put out the unedited version of Mani’s speech and even those who had thrown stones at Mani have now changed their opinion,” Mr Vijayan said. Satheesan said that Mani’s comment against Pompilai Orumai was only the latest in a series of indiscretions.
“All of us know what he had said against the mother of a dead son (Mahija) when she came to the capital in search of justice,” Satheesan said. He also alleged that there was no collective responsibility in Pinarayi Vijayan’s Cabinet. “When revenue minister Chandrasekharan called Tom Zachariah (Spirit of Jesus leader) an encroacher, your power minister ( M. M. Mani) called him a saint,” Satheesan told Mr Vijayan. The chief minister did not respond to the comment.
