CM Pinarayi is fascist, says Ramesh Chennithala

Thiruvananthapuram: Amid the LDF government facing criticisms from various quarters over the death of engineering student Jishnu Pranoy and the police action on the student’s family, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday went a step ahead and called Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan a fascist.

“The Chief Minister is behaving like a fascist. Civil rights are crushed in the State under his rule. The situation is so worse that anybody can be put in jail anytime. The LDF government has lost its mind,” Chennithala said.

“The police arrested even the former private secretary of V S Achuthanandan, K M Shajahan, who was at the protest of Jishnu Pranoy’s family. Is Shajahan anti-social or a goonda? The report submitted by the Inspector General about the police action on Jishnu’s parents is unacceptable as the Chief Minister himself had given his verdict about the incident even before the report,” he said.

Chennithala said it was the LDF government that conspired against the protest-plan of Jishnu’s family. “It was due to a conspiracy by the police that those who joined the family in their protest in front of the DGP office were arrested.”

The Opposition leader also visited KM Shajahan, Himaval Bhadrananda, Shajar Khan, Mini and Sreekumar at the jail where they were sent on remand. Police had arrested the five on Wednesday when they came along with Jishnu Pranoy's mother Mahija and relatives to meet the DGP. Non-bailable sections have been slapped against them.

Police arrested Shajahan and others alleging that there was external intervention in the agitation of Jishnu’s family.