10 october 2024 : A Kerala court has instructed the police to investigate if there is sufficient evidence to proceed against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a case accusing him of making inflammatory remarks that allegedly encouraged his party workers to attack Youth Congress activists during the government’s Nava Kerala Sadas outreach program last year.
The Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court directed the Ernakulam Central police to conduct the investigation under Section 202 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The complaint was filed by Mohammed Shiyas, the Ernakulam district president of the Congress.
Shiyas accused Vijayan of stating that Left activists were defending workers who attempted to block his bus during the Nava Kerala Sadas. On November 21, 2023, Vijayan reportedly said in Kannur that protesters jumping in front of his convoy were being pushed aside to save their lives, and that such actions should continue, calling it a life-saving act by the DYFI.
Shiyas argued that these remarks were provocative, leading DYFI activists to attack Youth Congress workers on multiple occasions. The court noted that the complaint was filed before the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was implemented and that the accused’s address lies outside its territorial jurisdiction.