The Student Federation of India (SFI) on Sunday dismissed the outfit’s district committee in Wayanad for vandalising Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, MP’s, regional office in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency on June 25.
The SFI had earned widespread condemnation for the “wanton violence.” The incident had also portrayed the CPI(M) in an unflattering light on the national stage. Currently, as many as 24 SFI activists, including women, are in judicial remand in connection with the attack.
The SFI State committee, which met in Thrissur on Sunday, held the SFI district committee squarely responsible for the incident. It dismissed the current disposition and constituted a new ad hoc SFI district committee.
The State committee reportedly felt that SFI activists had no business organising a march to Mr. Gandhi’s office to highlight the uncertainty faced by Wayanad residents threatened by the Supreme Court decision to impose an ecologically sensitive buffer zone within a one kilometre radius of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
The State committee reportedly felt that SFI workers in Wayanad could have organised the protest differently to express solidarity with local residents. It also pointed out that CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had disallowed protest marches to other party offices and facilities.
The aftermath of the violence manifested in angry protest marches, street violence, skirmishes with the police and tit-for-tat attacks on the Congress and the CPI(M) party offices across the State.
The Congress and ruling front legislators faced off in the Assembly. The ripples set off by the attack were yet to subside. Late night on June 30, an unidentified person exploded a crude bomb in front of the AKG Centre. The incident exacerbated political tensions further, with the CPI(M) blaming the Congress.
The Congress called it a CPI(M) employed diversionary tactic to divert public attention from the scandals dogging the government.
