No evidence of KSU workers attacking Health Minister Veena George: Satheesan

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has said that no evidence, including video, has emerged of Kerala Students Union (KSU) workers attacking Health Minister Veena George.

Speaking to reporters in Ernakulam, Mr. Satheesan said the United Democratic Front (UDF) would continue its black-flag protests against Ms. George and that the Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s [CPI(M)] threats of violence would not deter the Opposition. “The black-flag protests against the Minister will continue,” he said. 

Mr. Satheesan noted that the KSU protesters numbered only “four or five." In contrast, he said, a posse of police personnel, an estimated 35 officers, protected Ms. George.

“No KSU worker reached anywhere near her. In fact, Ms. George was seen charging towards the workers. The Congress has conducted a preliminary inquiry and found no wrongdoing on the part of the workers. If any inculpatory evidence emerges, the party will take action against them,” he said. 

Mr. Satheesan accused the CPI(M) of sensationalising a routine protest for election propaganda purposes. He noted that the late Chief Minister Oommen Chandy was injured on the head during a CPI(M) protest in Kannur.

When journalists pointed out that General Education Minister V. Sivankutty had held the Leader of the Opposition directly responsible for the attack on the Health Minister, Mr. Satheesan said: “The government tends to blame the Leader of the Opposition for all the ills it has visited on the people of Kerala. In fact, the CPI(M) is doing a public relations campaign for me.”

Former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran, MP, termed Ms. George an “accomplished actor and an inadequate Health Minister.” In a statement, he accused the CPI(M) of staging political theatre to divert public attention from the LDF government’s severe shortcomings. He dared the CPI(M) to produce evidence showing KSU workers harming Ms. George. “The visual evidence on hand shows no such trespass on the part of the KSU workers. No footage broadcast by television channels shows any violence against the Minister,” he said. 

In a Facebook post, KSU leader P. Mohammed Shamnas recommended a “best actor award” for Ms. George.