Yesterday morning, Alathur constituency Congress candidate Remya Haridas released a video that showed an alleged communist removing weapons from a campaign vehicle that accompanied left candidate K. Radhakrishnan.
The man in the video admitted he removed them. Radhakrishnan denied the allegations and deflected them towards the opposition.
Leftist activist Surendran, who appeared in the footage, accepted that the car contained weapons. He claimed he was accompanying the campaign when he saw weapons in the vehicle. There were long iron levers (used for digging holes) and, suspiciously, two Vettukathi (large hooked sharp knives for cutting or trimming meat) and cutting trees.
“We thought it would be a problem if the police saw them during the road check. So, we decided to drop and recollect them on the way back,” Surendran said after the CCTV footage came out.
The weapons were removed from a vehicle during a campaign rally at Chelakkara town in the Thrissur district. The serious incident happened on Wednesday evening, as the campaigning ended at 6 p.m.
A red car with a Chittoor registration dropped the weapons on the road, leaving the election campaign finale in town. Footage showed the suspect removing the knives and placing them on the road.
But when the locals noticed, someone in the vehicle asked him to take the weapons back. Surendran then returned them to the car. The incident took place near Radhakrishnan’s home.
Later, addressing the media, Radhakrishnan said,
“I saw the footage, but it is impossible to recognize who is in it. We (Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM cadre?) do not have the habit of carrying weapons in our campaign vehicles. That is the habit of other party members.”
“A ballot war is going on now, not an armed war with weapons. Let’s find out what happened. Our opponents have nothing else to say. That is why such a video was circulated.”
CPM claimed that they were tools to dismantle campaign boards. The Chelakkara police directed the party workers in the footage to appear at the station. Kerala police have not registered a case yet.
The UDF alleged that it was part of an attempt to sabotage the elections. Alathur UDF candidate Ramya Haridas said that CPM aims to unleash violence. We do not know where such weapons and bombs are stored, she said.
Palakkad NDA candidate C Krishnakumar said CPM is trying to incite riots. Why do they need weapons for election campaigns? The version that they were used for installing flex boards cannot be trusted. There is a fear of failure within the CPM. Therefore, CPM is trying to carry out violence across the state. A thorough investigation is needed in this matter.
C. Krishnakumar reminded us that a similar weapon fell during the campaign rally of MB Rajesh held last time in Palakkad (2019), and it was a similar incident.
Radhakrishnan, elected as the MLA from Chelakkara, has been a disaster as Kerala’s Devaswom Minister. The rabidly anti-Hindu communist has been Pinarayi Vijayan’s right-hand man when it came to destroying Hindu temples, customs and traditions. Radhakrishnan insulted Sabarimala Ayyappa devotees when he used the Prasadam offered at Sabarimala, like hand wash. Ironically, this minister has no issues joining hands in prayer at other places of worship.
Radhakrishnan faces TN Sarasu from the BJP and Remya Haridas (the 2019 winner). The constituency covers eight regions, four each in Thrissur and Palakkad.
