The Congress in Kerala came out against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the CPI-M on Friday alleging that the statements made by them condemning Rahul  Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha were not genuine.

The party saw duplicity in the Left front government’s stance on Rahul’s disqualification.

Senior Opposition leader in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan on Friday said here that on the one hand the chief minister and the CPI-M made statements supporting Rahul Gandhi and at the same time directed police to brutally attack protesting activists of KSU and youth Congress workers.

Satheesan said if the chief minister’s statement against Rahul’s disqualification is genuine , he would not have permitted the police to brutally beat up activists of the Kerala Students Union(KSU) and the Youth Congress, who held a protest march to Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram on  Friday evening.

He said that several KSU and Youth Congress workers were hospitalised with serious head injuries in the brutal police action on Friday.

Stating that all this police brutality has happened with the active knowledge and direction of the chief minister, Satheesan alleged that  It was done to please  Narendra Modi and the BJP. Satheesan  further said  the CPI-M support in Kerala is  visible only on social media.

Condemning Rahul Gandghi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said the hasty move is the latest chapter in the ongoing assault on democracy by the Sangh Parivar.

Pinarayi Vijayan said that the growing intolerance towards criticism has been endangering Indian democracy. In light of the development, democratic forces in the country should stand together and condemn the action against Rahul Gandhi, he added.

Stating that Rahul’s  disqualification is part of the BJP’s attempt to silence the Opposition parties, CPI-M Kerala secretary MV Govindan said strong protests should be staged across the country against such autocratic acts.

Meanwhile, Wayanad, on Saturday witnessed strong protests, including the burning of an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Congress workers in protest against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi  from the Lok Sabha.

Congress leaders, including T Siddique  MLA, who was part of the protest marched  to the office of BSNL in Kalpetta in Wayanad. They  were removed from the site by the police.