Kollam (Kerala), March 2 The opposition Congress in Kerala strongly condemned the heckling of its MLA by a section of people during the inauguration of the government's township project for landslide survivors in Wayanad and alleged a conspiracy by the CPI(M) behind the incident.
The ruling party alleged that "outsiders hired for the purpose" heckled and shouted at the elected MLA during the official function.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other ministers remained silent, which was a "serious breach of decorum," alleged Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan while addressing a press conference here.
The strong opposition criticism came a day after Congress's Kalpetta MLA T Siddique had been heckled and shouted at by a section of the crowd during his speech. There was also shouting when his name was mentioned during the welcome address.
Reacting to the incident later, Siddique had alleged that it was not landslide survivors but CPI(M) workers who heckled him. He said that everyone had worked together with the government to rehabilitate the landslide victims and that he would continue to work for them in the future as well.
During his speech, Revenue Minister K Rajan had also apparently taken a dig at Siddique and the Congress, saying that the Left government was not one that merely lays a single stone and leaves, but places stone upon stone and builds further.
Reacting strongly to the incidents, the LoP said that the government had only constructed houses for victims in three wards of a panchayat affected by the landslide disaster and accused the CPI(M) of attempting to claim credit for the project.
"It was not the CPI(M) but the government that constructed the houses using funds contributed by everyone to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund," Satheesan said.
Contributions from the public and UDF representatives were also utilised for the project, and politicising the rehabilitation project was improper, he added.
"It was not the CPI(M) but the people who booed that were disaster victims. There was a conspiracy behind it and CPI(M) is behind it," the Congress leader alleged.
The Opposition leader said Siddique had taken the initiative in the rescue operations within hours of the disaster and had been at the forefront of rehabilitation efforts.
He also claimed that when the government did not provide food assistance, the MLA personally intervened to extend support and ensure medical aid to affected households.
"Insulting such a representative is unacceptable," Satheesan added.
Expressing "shame" over the chief minister and ministers "watching silently" while an elected MLA was insulted, he said they should at least have stated that what happened was wrong and controlled those who created the disturbance.
He further questioned Revenue Minister K Rajan's reported remark that the Left government was not one that "lays stone and leaves" but continues building further.
"On what basis was that statement made? Ministers must understand the decorum of an official function," he said.
He also said that 52 houses had been constructed earlier by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a major UDF ally, and that the Congress government in Karnataka had handed over Rs 10 crore for house construction in Wayanad.
He alleged that though the government took one year to acquire land, it was not willing to allot land for the construction of 100 houses proposed by them, forcing them to find land independently and begin construction.
"All the funds for the township construction were contributed collectively. I, too, contributed Rs 1 lakh. The programme's dignity was destroyed by the government itself," Satheesan further said.