Govt issued quick order after sensing danger; govt decision is victory of our struggle, says opposition

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government managed to thwart the opposition parties' move to use Siddharth's death as an election weapon by quickly issuing an order for a CBI probe. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan swung into action before the protests and controversy surrounding the death of veterinary university student Siddharth could implicate the government. This was also due to the intervention of the CPM leadership and the constituent parties in the LDF. A criticism was raised regarding the incident in the Left Front meeting held the other day.

Although the state presidents of KSU, Youth Congress and Mahila Congress state presidents had been observing a hunger strike for six days raising various issues, including the CBI investigation into Siddharth's death, the government was not ready to negotiate or communicate with the opposition even once. However, the seriousness of the incident was discussed in the LDF meeting held last day to assess the election activities in the state. The issue was brought up by the constituent party RJD. The CPM's assessment that the issue is reflected in the state-wide election campaign also fueled the government's action.

On Saturday morning, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan directly called Siddharth's father and family members and held the discussion. The CM assured a CBI probe into the incident on the basis of the petition written by Siddharth's mother. Following this, the government issued a CBI probe into the death of Siddharth.

However, the opposition claims that the government's decision to order a CBI investigation is the victory of their struggle. They also said that the Chief Minister was ready for negotiations after the pressure on the government as part of the strike. Opposition Leader VD Satheesan said that the issue will be raised in the election arena.

A few days ago, senior CPI leader C Divakaran criticized the government and LDF in an interview given to a private channel. His main criticism was that the political leadership of the LDF above the administration was not giving instructions to the government on administrative matters.