Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) staged protests across Kerala on Saturday, demanding the resignation of Minister K. T. Jaleel. The protesters ignored COVID-19 protocol, and clashed with the police in Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Kollam.
The Opposition parties have accused Mr. Jaleel of losing the “moral right” to continue in office after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned him on Friday on suspicion of obtaining “foreign aid and gifts” from the UAE illegally.
BJP State president K. Surendran said Mr. Jaleel’s alleged close contact with Swapna Suresh, the second accused in the UAE consulate-linked gold smuggling case, was suspect. He also alleged that Mr. Jaleel had abetted gold smuggling under cover of receiving large consignments of Koran as gift from the consulate.
Mr. Jaleel has maintained that he had interacted with Ms. Swapna in official capacity. At the time, Ms. Swapna was the executive secretary to the UAE consul general, and he was Minister for Minority Welfare and Waqaf. He has also said that the 32 packets of Koran he received from the UAE consulate for distribution during Ramzan remained intact for scrutiny by law enforcement agencies. There was no protocol violation in receiving food kits from the consulate for distribution to needy families during Ramzan, said Mr. Jaleel.
Protests across the State
In Thiruvananthapuram, the police used pressurised water jets against Congress, BJP and Youth League workers who attempted to push their way through the iron barricade placed in front of the Secretariat gate.
In Kollam, the police clashed with BJP workers who attempted to stage a march to the private residence of Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty. In Malappuram, police prevented IUML workers from marching to Mr. Jaleel’s house.
BJP leader B. Gopalakrishnan was injured when police used water cannon to disperse protesting Yuva Morcha workers in Thrissur.
Similar protests occurred in Kozhikode, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta.
Leaders react
IUML leader P.K. Kunhalikutty accused Mr. Jaleel of violating the protocol of interacting with foreign entities. Congress MLA Shafi Parambil said Mr. Jaleel seemed to have the protection of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He said Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan had resigned from the LDF government in 2016 for a “far lesser charge” of nepotism.
Meanwhile, the ruling-LDF has rallied in support of Mr. Jaleel.
LDF convenor A. Vijayaraghavan told media persons on Friday that there was no ground for the Higher Education Minister’s resignation. CPI(M) Polit Bureau member S. Ramachandran Pillai and Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran stated the same.