3 days ago
Suresh Gopi maintains silence on voter list discrepancies as protests by BJP, CPI(M) rock Thrissur
Political tempers flared in Thrissur on Wednesday as the controversy over alleged voter list manipulation ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections spilled onto the streets, triggering protests by Bharatiya Janata Party and Communist Party of India (Marxist) workers.
Amid the tension, Union Minister and Thrissur MP Suresh Gopi arrived in the city at 9.30 a.m., his first visit since the allegations surfaced. While greeted with a grand reception by BJP workers at the railway station under tight security, he avoided interaction with the media, responding only with a sarcastic statement: 'Thanks for all your help.'
Throughout the day, he refused to address media questions on alleged electoral irregularities involving him and his family. He did not respond to questions about the attacks on clergy in Chhattisgarh and Odisha too.
Mr. Gopi visited Aswini Hospital to meet five BJP workers injured in clashes with CPI(M) activists on Tuesday night and later inspected his camp office, where CPI(M) demonstrators had poured black oil on the signboard. He skipped the BJP protest march, travelling via Angamaly to visit family of nun Preethi Mary, who was attacked in Chhattisgarh, before proceeding to Kothamangalam to meet the family of a student who recently died by suicide.
Unrest began on Tuesday evening when CPI(M) workers marched to Mr. Gopi's office over the voter list row, blackening its nameboard. The police arrested one activist involved. Tension escalated as BJP workers launched a counter-march to the CPI(M) office. An altercation followed, leaving five BJP activists with minor injuries.
On Wednesday morning, the BJP district committee, led by former State president K. Surendran and State general secretary Shobha Surendran, marched to the City Police Commissioner's office demanding action against those responsible for the attack on the MP's office and party workers.
The police blocked the march with barricades, prompting workers to climb over them waving party flags. Water cannons were deployed three times to disperse the crowd, but the protesters stood their ground.
Addressing a public meeting later, Mr. Surendran warned the CPI(M) and the Congress against 'trampling upon the mandate' of the people of Thrissur. Ms. Shobha Surendran denounced the vandalism at the MP's office as an insult to democracy and the city's voters.
The CPI(M) too took out a protest march against attack on its office by the BJP workers.
The All India Youth Federation, which staged a night march on Tuesday, accused the Election Commission of being reduced to a political instrument of the Sangh Parivar and demanded a stronger wave of public protests against voter list manipulation.
Addressing the march, CPI State Council member K.K. Valsaraj accused the Centre of using its influence to dismantle the democratic election process, alleging collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission in large-scale voter list tampering.
He criticised the continued silence of Mr. Gopi, calling it suspicious, and accused the Election Commission of trivialising serious allegations with 'nonsensical' explanations.
