Party cites Education Minister’s allusion to ‘fate of C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer befalling the Governor’
Party cites Education Minister’s allusion to ‘fate of C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer befalling the Governor’
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded that Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty be arrested for ‘declaring or threatening in the open that the Governor is at risk of losing his life.’
P.K. Krishnadas, a member of the BJP’s national executive, demanded in a statement here on Saturday that Mr. Sivankutty be expelled from the Cabinet and a case charged against him. Mr. Sivankutty has been repeatedly alluding to the “fate of C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer” (the controversial Diwan of erstwhile Travancore who survived an assassination bid) and issuing threats that the Governor should be wary of facing the same fate, Mr. Krishnadas said.
Mr. Sivankutty also reportedly stated that the CPI(M) had built a memorial for those who had attempted to murder Ramaswamy Iyer, which was much more serious than the “Punjab model” speech made by the late Kerala Congress (B) leader R. Balakrishna Pillai, Mr. Krishnadas said.
Intimidation alleged
He claimed that the Chief Minister and his Cabinet members were behaving like ‘goondas’ and trying to intimidate the Governor who had expressed his disagreement with the State government’s ‘unlawful acts.’ Threatening those occupying constitutional seats of power was akin to terrorism, he said.
He demanded that the Chief Minister clarify whether the remark made by Mr. Sivankutty was a reflection of the State government’s stance. The CPI(M) should clarify its official position.
The BJP will organise protest marches and meetings at all district headquarters on November 18 and 19 against the ‘corruption and nepotism practised by the State government,’ he said.
