Palakkad (Kerala), April 2 Ramesh Pisharody, the UDF candidate in Palakkad led by the Congress, was allegedly prevented from entering a BJP stronghold in the constituency, leading to widespread condemnation, including from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The incident occurred late on Wednesday evening, when women workers of the BJP blocked Pisharody during his campaign tour in the Vadakkanthara area.
Kerala will go to the polls on April 9.
The protesting women were allegedly led by a BJP councillor of the Palakkad Municipal Council.
Visuals aired by news channels showed the activists raising slogans against Congress leaders.
Pisharody described the act as “undemocratic.”
Condemning the incident, Chief Minister Vijayan said, “We should not underestimate the BJP. Haven't we now seen the nature of its intolerance? Don't all candidates campaign during elections? Didn't they block the UDF candidate Pisharody in Palakkad?”
Addressing a CPI(M) election event, the veteran leader added, “Didn't they even try to attack? What the BJP shows elsewhere, a sample of that has now been seen in Palakkad. That is what we should recognise. We have no difference of opinion on that.”
While stating that the LDF is strongly opposed to the Congress and the UDF, Vijayan said that in a democratic system, democratic values must be upheld.
“Everyone has the right to campaign during elections. We do not agree with denying that right, and we strongly condemn it,” he said.
“What we saw there was also a kind of helplessness on the part of the Congress. It is a warning of how dangerous it could be if a force like the BJP takes root in our state. We should not ignore that,” he added.
Reacting to the incident, NDA candidate and BJP leader Sobha Surendran said that Pisharody was stopped following his alleged anti-women remarks.
She claimed that Pisharody had said incidents of violence against women were a personal matter, which she said was unacceptable.
Surendran further alleged that the UDF candidate’s stance was supportive of offenders, which led to protests by women who stopped him. She demanded that Pisharody apologise for his remarks.
She also questioned why the police have not arrested Congress councillor Prashobh, who is facing a sexual assault case in Palakkad, adding that a complaint has been filed against him with the National Commission for Women.