Highlights
- Rahul Gandhi's office was vandalised after protest march of SFI in Wayanad, Kerala
- Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the attack and assured stringent action against culprits
- Congress leaders trained their guns at ruling CPM, and alleged that attack was a 'conspiracy'
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's office on Friday was vandalised after a protest march of the SFI, the student wing of the ruling CPI(M), turned violent in Kerala's Wayanad. Officials said that the protest march contained around 100 Students' Federation of India (SFI) activists and they barged into the office. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the attack on Gandhi's office and assured stringent action against the culprits.
"There were around 80-100 activists. As of now, eight of them are under custody. More police have been deployed," the police were quoted as saying by news agency PTI. The protests were organised by student organisations as they alleged that Gandhi failed to intervene in the issue of creating buffer zones around forests in the hilly areas of Kerala. Television channels aired visuals of a group of protestors creating a ruckus inside the MP's office.
Congress reactions
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tweeted visuals of Gandhi's office, which was seen vandalised, and asked, "Would @pinarayivijayan & @SitaramYechury take disciplinary action or let their silence condone such behaviour? Is this their idea of politics?"
K.C. Venugopal, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary, alleged that the attack was a conspiracy hatched by ruling CPI-M in Kerala.
"This happened in the presence of Police. It's a clear conspiracy by CPM leadership.For the past 5 days, ED is questioning him after that I don't know why Kerala CPM is going in the way of Narendra Modi to attack him. I think Sitaram Yehcury will take necessary action," he said.
Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan sharply reacted to the incident and said the attack showed lawlessness and "goondaism".
"Ghastly attack by SFI goons at Rahul Gandhi's MP Office at Wayanad. It is lawlessness and goondaism. CPM has turned into an organised mafia. Strongly Condemning the attack," the Congress leader tweeted.