Thiruvananthapuram, July 19 (UNI) Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday slammed IndiGo Airlines for imposing a three-week travel ban on top CPI-M leader and Left Convenor E.P.Jayarajan.Vijayan attacked the airline on the floor of the state Assembly saying that he traveled from Kannur to here on June 13 and a protest broke out in the aircraft with two Youth Congress workers raising slogans against him.
“They were trying to harm me but Jayarajan, along with my personal security and staff, stopped the protesters from reaching me. On July 16, the airline without taking the statements of other passengers, in an ex-parte verdict to help the accused (the Youth Congress protesters) failed to protect those who protected me,” said Vijayan. On Monday, it was learned that Jayarajan, after an internal probe by the airlines, was handed over a three-week travel ban, while the two Youth Congress protesters were banned for two weeks.
Leader of Opposition V.D.Satheesan raised the issue of Jayarajan’s travel ban on the floor of the Assembly this morning and said that a case should be registered against him based on the travel ban.
At this, Vijayan said there was a conspiracy hatched by the Youth Congress, and chat messages have by now come out about the plan to attack the Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, Youth Congress vice-president and two-time former Congress legislator K.S.Sabarinadhan whose chat messages had come out with regards to the protests to be undertaken by the Youth Congress workers inside the aircraft was arrested by the local police as he was part of the conspiracy to attack Vijayan. Sabarinadhan is the son of late top former Congress veteran Minister and Speaker G.Karthikeyan, while his wife is an IAS officer here.
Youth Congress president Shafi Parambil, a three-time Congress legislator while interacting with the media called Vijayan a coward adding, “just see how scared he is that he gets rattled when someone shouts slogans against him”.
“Sabarinadhan had presented himself before the local police probing the Vijayan attack case at 10.30 a.m. Around 11.03 am, he moved an anticipatory bail plea against being summoned before the police. The court then pointed out that Sabarinadhan should not be arrested till his anticipatory bail plea is disposed of. But soon the government’s counsel informed the court that he has been arrested. Sabarinadhan was informed of his arrest by the police at 12.29 p.m,” said Parambil.
The court after hearing the arrest asked the prosecution to produce all the details of the arrest before the court in the afternoon. Meanwhile, the police informed that Sabarinadhan would be produced before the court in the afternoon.
A huge number of Youth Congress workers and a few Congress legislators are protesting before the police station, here, where Sabarinadhan is presently arrested. Satheesan said strange things are happening under Vijayan as Sabarinadhan has been arrested in an attempt to murder case conspiracy against Vijayan.
“We demanded that a case be registered against Jayarajan and just see, when Jayarajan was given three weeks ban, the protester’s Youth Congress workers were given only two weeks ban. Vijayan is doing strange things and just see how the police are acting and even the court’s directive is being overlooked by Vijayan who thinks that he can use power to do what he wants,” said Satheesan.
