THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a scathing attack, Kerala Opposition Leader VD Satheesan on Friday branded Health Minister Veena George a ‘laughingstock’ among the public, accusing her party of fabricating an attack story to ignite statewide unrest.
Speaking to reporters in Adoor, Satheesan remarked that people burst into laughter at the mere mention of the minister’s name. He alleged the CPI(M) spread a blatant lie claiming George was injured during a KSU protest at Kannur on Wednesday, using it as a pretext to fuel violence across Kerala.
Satheesan highlighted how a KSU leader’s home was bombed and activists slapped with fabricated murder attempt charges to jail them. Five KSU workers remain behind bars for allegedly protesting and showing black flags when George arrived at Kannur railway platform.
The public now sees through the deception, he said, pointing out false statements by the minister, Assembly Speaker AN Shamseer, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan about the platform incident. ‘The so-called attack they cited to call for chaos never happened,’ Satheesan asserted.
He also revealed his campaign materials were destroyed in Pathanamthitta, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram, with several people injured and some homes targeted with crude bombs. Dismissing claims that KSU activists grabbed George’s shawl and hand, he called them baseless fabrications to provoke violence.
This ‘attack narrative’ was a ploy to divert attention from health sector failures, now exposed as fiction, Satheesan charged. No injuries from assault were mentioned in the medical bulletin, and despite surgery rumors, hospitalization was unnecessary—a pure drama known to media, railways, and the public.
Demanding withdrawal of murder attempt charges against KSU workers and an FIR against Govindan for inciting violence, Satheesan vowed the Opposition would fight politically and legally. He urged CPI(M) to immediately halt the violence.